IPL 10, Match 9, Rising Pune Supergiant v Delhi Daredevils – 5 Tracking Points

Today’s match was all about two contrasting, and drastically different performances- while one team, not particularly known for its batting line-up displayed one of the best collective batting efforts as a side, the other looked toothless with both the ball and the bat. And no points for guessing that it was the Delhi Daredevils who learned a thing or two from their mistakes in the past and registered their first win of the season today.

Despite winning the toss, and the advantage of chasing, RPS had a game they would only like to remember for the mistakes to be improved. The momentum was with Delhi since the time Sam-Sam(son) got along. Their bowling only made their job to defend the target of 206 easier. But, Pune looked out of the game the moment they were not able to contain the two major partnerships, and their poor batting display only made things worse.

While a lot could have been different had Steve Smith been around, but this loss makes it Pune’s second defeat and they slip to seventh in the points table. The only good thing for RPS today was Imran Tahir acquiring the Purple Cap. Things may have gone wrong for RPS today, but they will be looking to make a comeback just like DD did, today.

Here are 5 Tracking Points from the RPS v DD game today:

Four big changes for RPS, just one for DD

Smith was out with a bad stomach, so his absence meant Faf du Plessis got his first game of the season and Ajinkya Rahane was the interim captain. Pune were also without Manoj Tiwary, who lost his father on Tuesday morning. There were two other changes in their Playing XI, with legspinner Adam Zampa coming in for all-rounder Daniel Christian and Deepak Chahar replacing his brother Rahul Chahar. Delhi went in with just one change; Corey Anderson in for Carlos Brathwaite. Too many changes call for uncertainty and instability; we have seen that with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Maiden century for Sanju Samson and IPL 2017

With Sam Billings settling down at the other end, Samson took charge to make a huge comeback after his forgettable outing in the previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The 22-year-old slammed a 62-ball century as Delhi Daredevils piled up a colossal total against Rising Pune Supergiant. Strokeplay, muscling, classical shots- the innings had it all. After a quiet domestic season, he has returned with a masterclass. This was the maiden century of this year’s Indian Premier League, as well as for Samson. And, it was only fitting to score one when his team needed to register their first victory of the season.

Chris Morris finishes off with a carnage

The legend of “Chris” only continues as he provided his side with one of the best ends to an innings, in IPL history. Batting at a strike rate of 422.22, Morris unleashed 38 runs in 9 balls making things for RPS even worse.  Yesterday, two South Africans dominated, and Morris made sure he joined the club too. A blitzkrieg from him assured that the runs that came towards the end proved to be a psychological advantage for DD. While Samson contributed with a scintillating hundred, Morris brought an equally entertaining end.

Delhi’s dominance with the ball

Despite not getting their first wicket until the third over, Delhi’s bowling was a big factor, apart from the mammoth target they set, for their victory. After two early strikes from Zaheer Khan, Chris Morris, Shahbaz Nadeem and Pat Cummins contributed extremely well to chip in regular wickets. The only time no wickets fell were the initial three overs during the powerplay and the few overs between the 8^th to the 12^th one. The wickets kept falling and the RPS batsmen did not get the opportunity to settle. The scorecard reflects that as the highest individual score in the RPS innings was Mayank Agarwal’s 20. Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra ended with 3 wickets in 3 overs each.

RPS batting woes do not seem to end

For Steven Smith to be absent was too big a blow for RPS, considering that he is their main man and the batsman in form. Rahane did well in the first match, but uncertainty has prevailed after that. While Manoj Tiwary and Mayank Agarwal can be excellent on their days, the cloud of inconsistency still looms over them and the side in general. MS Dhoni does not seem to have the greatest of times lately, while Ben Stokes too has been on and off. Though the problem of inconsistency is too early to be pointed out for any side, it is important for sides with relatively weak bowling attacks to focus on enhancing their batting at least.