IPL 2017, DD vs GL: 5 things that went wrong for Gujarat Lions
The audience at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla got their money’s worth as they witnessed a match full of sublime strokes and some sensationally clean ball-striking.
First it was the turn of Gujarat Lions’ Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik and in the second innings, it was the turn of the two wicket-keepers, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant. Pant out-batted all of them in one of the best knocks of the IPL and it was heart-breaking to see him trudging along after being dismissed on 97, excruciatingly close to what would have been the century of the tournament.
It is not every day that a team posts 208 batting first which is what Gujarat Lions did. Only once before this had a target of 209 or more been chased down in the entire IPL history. Delhi Daredevils showed that they could do it by racing off to 63 for 1 in the powerplay. It just got better and better from thereon as, in the end, Delhi reached there in a canter.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017, GL vs DD: Delhi's decision to persist with Rishabh Pant at No. 3 is the SK Turning Point of the Match
Here are five things that went wrong for Gujarat Lions on the night.
#1 Lions’ pacers out-bowled comfortably by Delhi’s
A team doesn’t lose often after scoring 208. Obviously, Gujarat had a bad day at the office with the ball. This was evident from the bowling numbers of the pacers on either side. Sangwan went for 43 in his 4 overs, Basil Thampi went for 40 in his 4 overs and Faulkner went for 35 in just 2.3 overs.
In contrast to that, for the Daredevils, Rabada had figures of 2/28 in 4 overs and Pat Cummins had figures of 2/30 in his 4 overs. Shami didn’t do well going for 40 in his 3 overs but Rabada and Cummins more than made up for that, especially by striking at the right time. In the end, those extra 20 runs that Gujarat Lions’ pacers gave away made all the difference.