Youngster’s 97 makes light work of 209-run chase to send Lions packing; Samson smashes 61
Spearheaded by Rishabh Pant's smashing 97, Delhi Daredevils (DD) ended Gujarat Lions' (GL) run in this Indian Premier League with a thumping seven-wicket victory here on Thursday.
Playing in front of his home crowd and family members, Pant took just 42 balls to play the knock of his life by blasting GL bowling line up all around the ground. His innings included six fours and nine sixes.
The southpaw was well supported by Sanju Samson at the other end who got out after scoring a 31-ball 61. The duo accumulated 143 runs for the second wickets off just 63 balls.
The dominance of Pant-Samson pair was such that Gujarat's massive target of 209 was chased down in just 17.3 overs.
Even DD mentor and former India captain Rahul Dravid was seen enjoying Pant's hitting. Having been known for his technically correct batting approach, Dravid must have forgiven his young star for playing a few cross-batted shots or even missing his maiden IPL ton during such an impact innings.
Having started the campaign with two wins out of three games, DD lost five consecutive matches since. But with this victory to go with their triumph over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last game, DD now look to be a team to beat.
Earlier, GL got off to a terrible start losing both their openers, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, in quick succession. The visitors were well directed by skipper Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik to set a 209-run target for the hosts. DD did pull things back in control towards the end but damage was done till then.
Raina top scored with a 43-ball 77 followed by Karthik's 65. Aaron Finch and Ravindra Jadeja also later contributed with valuable 27 and 18, respectively, to help team set a huge total.
It was huge only till Pant and Samson got going.
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