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TAME DISPLAY Hosts Pune lose by 97 runs after Sanju Samson hits season’s first century while Morris’s late strikes take Delhi to 205
Sanju Samson scored the first century of the 10th Indian Premier League as the Delhi Daredevils thumped hosts Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs at the Maharashtra Cricket Association here on Monday.
After being put in by stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane, the Daredevils rode on Samson’s fine knock before a late blitz from Chris Morris helped them post 205 for four.
Samson took no time to settle down as he picked up four boundaries in the first six balls he faced. It was a calculated knock from the 22-year-old as he paced his innings well, rotating the strike with Sam Billings and Rishabh Pant once the boundaries dried up.
He reached his half-century in style off 41 deliveries, but neither Billings nor Pant managed to build on their knocks after settling down. While Billings was cleaned up by Imran Tahir, Pant had to depart following a brilliant throw from Mayank Agarwal at point. That did little to curb Samson’s aggression. Going back to the fiery form he had started the innings with, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman dealt in boundaries as he steered his side to a big total.
He plundered 19 runs off Ashok Dinda’s third over before lofting Adam Zampa for a six to reach the triple-figure mark. Although he was dismissed off the next ball, his side had already crossed the 160-mark by then.
Morris then played a gem of a knock lower down the order to add to Pune’s misery as he scored 38 in just nine deliveries.
In reply, the hosts got off to a dismal start as Delhi skipper Zaheer Khan sent back the openers cheaply. Rahane holed out to mid-off. Morris then got rid of Rahul Tripathi as the men in purple were reeling at 50/3 at the end of the powerplay overs. Faf du Plessis and Ben Stokes too failed to deliver and departed in successive overs, virtually sealing the fate of the match. It is on the back of my mind, I have to do well here (IPL). However, my focus is on the IPL. If I will think too much about Champions Trophy I will put pressure on myself, and will not be able to do well. I am taking one match at a time in the IPL so that I get selected for the next match. If a batsman of his calibre does well, one can’t do anything. He played some unbelievable shots. We did well in the first 10 overs, restricting the RCB batsmen. But then De Villiers started to fire. Maxwell is playing freely this year and more importantly is finishing the chase. That is a big plus for us.