Pant's masterclass seals Daredevils win, ends Lions play-off hopes

Rishabh Pant of Delhi Daredevils

Teenager Rishabh Pant played a masterful innings as his 97 helped Delhi Daredevils to a seven-wicket thumping and ended Gujarat Lions' already slim IPL play-off hopes.

Gujarat made the trip to Delhi knowing only four straight wins could realistically extend their season, but a fine 133-run stand from Suresh Raina (77) and Dinesh Karthik (65) propelled them to a hefty 208-7.

But Pant, ably assisted by Sanju Samson (61), smashed nine sixes and six fours off 43 balls in a textbook display of Twenty20 cricket as the Daredevils recorded the second-highest run-chase in IPL history to move within five points of the top four with a match in hand.

After the early losses of Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, Raina made the most of being dropped on two by Shreyas Iyer to launch four sixes and five fours.

Karthik was equally prolific and his knock came from just 34 balls, but - after Kagiso Rabada had made the most of confusion between the batsmen to remove Raina with a direct hit - he was dismissed courtesy of a stunning one-handed catch by a backtracking Corey Anderson at midwicket.

Aaron Finch's 27 off 19 and back-to-back sixes from Ravindra Jadeja (18 not out) at the end of the innings propelled the Lions to a fine position.

However, Pant came to the wicket with reckless abandon and cleared the ropes four times inside five overs, Basil Thampi (1-40) and Pradeep Sangwan (1-43) the first to picked off by the 19-year-old.

Love watching @RishabPant777 what a talent

— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) May 4, 2017

At the other end, Samson was playing his part in a majestic partnership, twice sending Ankit Soni for six.

Pant was the main attraction, though, and he picked up 23 runs off a luckless James Faulkner (0-35) in the 11th over with his sublime ball striking and excellent foot work helping him to three more sixes.

Love batsman with tremendous belief in themselves which is backed by a special ability for ball hitting.Extra Special today frm Rishabh Pant

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) May 4, 2017

Samson helped himself to a couple more maximums off Jadeja before taking on the left-armer once too many and skewing one to Faulkner at long-off in the 14th over.

Pant picked up the slack in the same over and slogged one over long-on, but he fell agonisingly short of a century when he edged Thampi behind in the 15th.

His masterclass had done the work, though, as Iyer (14 not out) and Anderson (18 not out) steered Delhi over the line.