IPL 9 Match 23 Review: Gujarat Lions steal a thriller

Gujarat Lions (GL) sneaked past Delhi Daredevils (DD) in an action-packed dramatic contest at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi. Chris Morris’ heroic 32 balls 82 runs knock failed to steal victory for the DD side. The DD side, chasing 173 runs for victory was completely routed by the Gujarat Lions bowlers initially.

However, Chris Morris’ arrival at the crease changed the course of the match completely. The South African all-rounder put on a brutal display of hard-hitting and heroicly came close to pulling off a sensational heist. But, eventually, the Lions bowlers pulled back brilliantly in the death overs to help their team sneak past the winning line closely with a single run margin.

The chase began on an awry note for DD after Dhawal Kulkarni went on a rampage with the new ball, sending openers Quinton de Kock and Sanju Samson and one down Karun Nair back to the pavilion very cheaply.

At the half-way stage, DD side were tottering at 51/3 and had lost the track completely. However, the 11th over brought a blessing in disguise for Daredevils. U-19 sensation Rishabh Pant’s departure saw Morris arrive at the crease and turn the match head over heels. The all-rounder launched a brutal attack and began dealing in sixes and fours only. Soon, DD advanced to 116/4 from 58/4 in the 11th over. It was an uninhibited display of aggressive batting. Morris, in the process, also rocketed to the fastest fifty of this season off just 17 balls.

Unfortunately, the well-set JP Duminy lost his wicket in the 18th over which kept the Lions in the hunt. His wicket turned out to be the game changer for the bowling side. The equation boiled to 18 runs off 12 balls.

The equation then boiled to 18 runs off 12 balls. Veteran swing bowler Praveen Kumar squeezed all his experience out and bowled a tight penultimate over, giving away only four runs off it to make matter more tricky for the chasing side. Pawan Negi looked visibly struggling to deal with the cunning head of Kumar while Morris kept trying hard.

as a result of the miserly bowling by Praveen Kumar, DD now required 14 runs off the last over by Bravo. Morris began with a boundary. But, Bravo did not offer any further chances stuck to the blockhole length to contain both Negi and Morris.

Eventually the match came down to 4 runs off the last ball, Morris, who had muscled 8 sixes so far, needed only one big hit to seal the match. Unfortunately, he could garner only a couple as the pulsating match ended with Gujarat Lions escaping with a one-run win.

Earlier, Dwayne Smith (53 from 30 balls) and Brendon McCullum (60 from 36 balls) gave a blazing start to the GL innings, plundering 112 runs for the first wicket. Both individuals looked be batting with a straightforward intent of hammering the bowlers.

DD skipper Zaheer Khan, who looked casual during the toss, was welcomed with four boundaries in the opening over. McCullum also got into action and dealt only in sixes initially. The GL side rocketed past the 50 run mark in just 3.5 overs, the fastest team fifty of the season. By the end of the first the powerplay, GL were at 71/0.

McCullum soon raced to his half-century off just 27 balls, beating Finch’s record of fastest half-century this season. McCullum’s record, however, could not even stand for five minutes as Smith soon raced to his half-century off just 26 balls. At the half-way stage, GL were comfortably sitting at 110/0 and a humongous total looked in sight.

The game, however, saw a drastic change from hereon as the DD bowlers made a sensational comeback was been clobbered to all corner. After giving aways runs freely in the first half, the bowlers pulled the strings to derail the Lions innings, giving away only 62 run 10 overs while taking 6 wickets in the process.

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir slammed brakes on the breathtaking partnership after he managed to get better of Dwayne Smith. The following over saw Chris Morris send both McCullum and skipper Suresh Raina back to the pavilion. Spinners then began to tighten the noose around the crumbling GL side. JP Duminy chipped in with the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja to add more pressure. Imran Tahir finished his spell with the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Dinesh Kartik in the 17th over. The Lions were completely rattled by now. James Faulkner (22 from 13 balls) played a valuable cameo to take GL total to 172/6 after 20 overs.

Brief Scores: 

Delhi Daredevils: 172/6 in 20 overs (Brendon McCullum 60; Imran Tahir 3/24)

Gujarat Lions: 171/5 in 20 overs (Chris Morris 82; Dhawal Kulkarni 3/19)

Man of the Match: Chris Morris

Also, read – IPL 9 Match 23: DD v GL – 5 Talking Points