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IPL 2017, DD vs RPS: Player Ratings

Zaheer Khan helped his team start perfectly with Rahane’s wicket

The Delhi Daredevils defeated the Rising Pune Supergiant by seven runs in a nail-biting encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. The last time these two teams clashed in the first leg of the tournament at Pune, the crowd was enthralled to a master class from Sanju Samson who scripted his way into record books by scoring the first century in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League.  

While the Daredevils are out of contention for a place in the playoffs, the Supergiant are yet to secure their position and need a win from their last encounter against the Kings XI Punjab after what transpired last night. 

Zaheer Khan, the skipper of the Delhi franchise, won the toss and elected to bat first on a dry Kotla surface on offer which he believed would assist the spinners later in the second half of the game. The home team were jolted early in the first innings as they lost their two inform players, Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer early in the innings. A middle order resurgence from Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant ensured that the Daredevils post a decent total of 168. 

Also read: 5 things that went wrong for Rising Pune Supergiant

In reply, the visitors started off poorly as they lost the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane of the first delivery and failed to recover from this early loss as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals to dent their chances in this run chase. 

Take a look at the performance of the players in this exciting contest:

Delhi Daredevils 

Sanju Samson – 1

The 22-year-old opening batsman failed to give his side a good start at the top of the order as he was run out for two in the first over of the innings, courtesy a brilliant direct hit from Ben Stokes. 

Karun Nair – 8 

The stylish batsman has struggled for form throughout the tournament but produced one of his best knocks in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League as he smashed 64 runs in his 45-ball stay. He was involved in a crucial 72-run stand for the third wicket with Rishabh Pant to set the foundation of a huge first innings total.

Opening the batting, Nair anchored the innings with a well compiled half century and ensured that the home team reached a par score of 168 runs in the first innings. The 25-year-old was guilty of dropping a simple catch of Manoj Tiwary on 40 in the 15th over of the run chase which didn’t matter in the end. 

Shreyas Iyer – 3

The man of the match from the last game disappointed with the bat in this crucial encounter as he was dismissed for three runs, trying to cut an away going delivery from Jaydev Unadkat. Coming in to bat at number three, Iyer was undone by the extra bounce on offer and edged it to MS Dhoni behind the stumps. Iyer was brilliant in the field as he managed to save a Steve Smith six with a one-handed effort to save five runs for his side. 

Rishabh Pant – 6

The left-hander is the most exciting youngster in the tenth edition of the tournament. The 19-year-old helped the Daredevils recover from early jitters with 36 runs from 22 deliveries including four boundaries and a couple of sixes. Pant will be disappointed as he could not convert this start into a bigger score for his side as he was caught at long on trying to clear the boundary rope. 

Marlon Samuels – 5

The West Indian finally got going in the penultimate match of the tournament as he scored a quick fire 27 off 21 balls to give the Delhi outfit much-needed impetus in the middle overs. Samuels was particularly severe on Shardul Thakur as he smashed him for consecutive sixes in the 12th over of the innings.

Corey Anderson – 3

The all-rounder from New Zealand has failed to set the stage alight in this edition of the tournament and it was no different today as he was dismissed for three runs with the bat. The left-hander has endured a dismal season for the Daredevils and his form has been one of the main reasons for a poor display by the team in the tournament. Anderson returned to the field and picked up a good catch to dismiss the dangerous Ben Stokes at the long off boundary. 

Pat Cummins –  6

The Australian was outstanding with the ball for the home team as he kept the scoring rate down with some quality bowling in the middle overs. The right arm fast bowler used the slower balls to good effect as he gave away just 31 runs in his quota of four overs with the wicket of Manoj Tiwary in the last ball of the innings 

Amit Mishra – 5

The experienced leg-spinner was expensive in his three overs as he conceded 26 runs without any wicket. Delhi outfit needed some vital breakthroughs in the middle overs but Mishra failed to provide them with any wickets in the innings. 

Shahbaz Nadeem – 6

The left arm spinner was making a comeback into the playing XI and made an immediate impact as he picked up the prized wicket of Steve Smith to jolt the visiting side in the middle overs. He returned with figures of one for 21 in his three overs.   

Mohammed Shami – 6

Mohammed Shami has not been at his best in this year’s Indian Premier League as he has struggled for the right line and length throughout the tournament. He conceded 37 runs in his four overs and was poor in the field as well, giving away an easy boundary between his legs. However, he arguably produced the moment of the game when he surprise Dhoni with a direct hit. 

Zaheer Khan – 7

The left arm medium pacer gave the Daredevils a perfect start with the ball as he picked the big wicket of Ajinkya Rahane in the first ball of the run chase. The early dismissal of the experienced Rahane gave the home team an early advantage in the second innings. The skipper followed it up with the wicket of in-form Rahul Tripathi to dent the visiting side in the power play. The veteran speedster was the pick of the bowlers with 25 runs in his quota of four overs.  

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