IPL 2017: Delhi Daredevils vs Rising Pune Supergiant, Player Ratings
Courtesy of Sanju Samson’s maiden IPL century and blitzkrieg cameo by Chris Morris, the Delhi Daredevils thrashed Rising Pune Supergiant by a whopping 97 runs. The RPS batting line crumbled under the pressure of a target of 205 and managed only 108 before being bundled out.
This defeat has increased the troubles of RPS who are still struggling to find their best bowling combination. On the other hand, Delhi Daredevils who have underperformed in the past few seasons, are sure to have earned momentum with this win and will be soaring high on confidence.
As a unit, RPS was abysmal in this match however some of their individual players displayed promise. Delhi Daredevils too had some magnificent performances but the failure of few players will worry them.
Here are the player ratings for this match.
Delhi Daredevils
Sanju Samson- 9/10
This was a dream night for the Kerala batsman who notched up his first IPL hundred. Samson came out to bat in the second over after an early fall of wicket and then steered the innings with patience and calmness. But when it looked like Delhi were likely to be a few runs short on a good batting track, Samson shifted gears with ease. This magnificent hundred and this match will be inked in Samson's memory forever.
Zaheer Khan- 8/10
Zaheer Khan once again bowled like the leader of the pack. He was accurate, fierce and bowled with intent. He was outstanding during the powerplay and got the big wickets of Rahane and Agarwal without leaking many runs. His fantastic first spell sucked out life from RPS’ batting line-up from which they never recovered.
Amit Mishra- 8/10
Amit Mishra quickly left behind the horrific memories of last game and bowled with a fresh mindset. His best moment of the day was when he got the wicket of Dhoni. Along with picking up three wickets, Mishra was very tidy as well with the ball.
Chris Morris- 7/10
The bowling figures of Morris aren’t that impressive. He went for 19 runs in 2 overs but what we remember about Morris from this match is his incredible hitting. The South African faced only nine delivers but smashed 38 runs which included four fours and three sixes. He also picked up the wicket of Tripathi.
Rishabh Pant- 6/10
Coming fresh off a high-quality half century, a lot was expected from Pant and the way he started his innings, it looked like he was set for another big knock. But an unfortunate run out ended his stay after scoring 31 runs. He added crucial 53 runs with Samson in the middle overs. Behind the wickets, Pant displayed a safe pair of hands and showed sparks of brilliance while dismissing Faf du Plessis.
Shahbaz Nadeem- 6//10
Bowling with a cushion of 205 runs behind him, Nadeem was accurate with the new ball and then came back to get the wicket of du Plessis. He kept the pressure intact and didn’t allow Pune batsman any freebies.
Pat Cummins- 5/10
Although a bit expensive, Cummins was effective on this pitch courtesy of his pace. His vital contribution was the wicket of Ben Stokes. If he maintains his pace and accuracy, then Delhi won’t have to search more to find Zak’s bowling partner.
Sam Billings- 4/10
Another promising start and another failure for Billings. His knock of 24 had heavy promise but it ended shortly. He was looking good when he started the innings but he will have to learn the art of constructing the big innings quickly.
Cory Anderson- 3/10
Roped as an allrounder, we couldn’t see Anderson’s batting skills thanks to the Morris magic. With the ball too he was offered only one over, in which he was very expensive.
Aditya Tare- 2/10
After this game, questions over Tare’s spot in the teams are looming large. With Pant handling the wicket keeper’s responsibility, Tare was playing in the side purely as a batsman. But a duck at the top of the order is going to do nothing good for Tare.
Karun Nair- 1/10
We couldn’t see any batting from Nair but we surely saw his fielding. He took the vital catch of Dhoni and then failed to hold on to Dinda’s edge at first slip.