Daredevils come back from poor start to post 162 against Chennai
New Delhi, May 18: Allrounders Vijay Shankar and Harshal Patel scripted Delhi Daredevils’ recovery after a pedestrian performance from the top- order, helping the hosts reach 162/ 5 against Chennai Super Kings in a dead rubber of the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
Lungi Ngidi ( 2/ 14) broke the backbone of Delhi batting by removing skipper Shreyas Iyer ( 19 off 22) and top run- getter Rishabh Pant ( 38 off 26) in the 11th over. Vijay Shankar ( 36 n. o. off 28) and Harshal Patel ( 36 n. o. off 16) lent some respectability to the total with an unbeaten 65- run stand off 32 balls.
The final flourish included a 26- run final over where Dwayne Bravo was hammered for four sixes. It was an inconsequential game but a sizable number of M. S. Dhoni fans blended with the home team's supporters to make it a packed house. RCB and Sunrisers chased down 180 plus target with ease in the previous two games at Kotla and expectedly the CSK skipper Dhoni had no hesitation in bowling first.
Delhi were sluggish at the start, mustering just 39 runs in six- over Powerplay. Prithvi Shaw ( 17 off 17) was out cheaply for the third game in a row after he played a loose stroke to be caught at long- on.
Iyer opened the innings with Shaw in Jason Roy's absence and the DD skipper's Delhi Daredevils: P. Shaw c Thakur b Chahar 17, S. Iyer b Ngidi 19, R. Pant c Bravo b Ngidi 38, G. Maxwell b Jadeja 5, V. Shankar ( not out) 36, Abhishek Sharma c Harbhajan Singh b Thakur 2, H. Patel ( not out) 36. Extras: ( lb3, w6) 9. Total: ( for 5 wkts, in 20 overs) 162. FoW: 1- 24, 2- 78, 3- 81, 4- 94, 5- 97.
Bowling: Chahar 3- 0- 23- 1 ( 2w), Ngidi 3- 0- 14- 2 ( 2w), Jadeja 4- 0- 19- 1, Thakur 4- 0- 27- 1, Harbhajan 2- 0- 24- 0, Bravo 4- 0- 52- 0 ( 2w).
innings too was a shaky one. He shared a 54run stand for the second wicket with the in- form Pant but the South African pacer Ngidi removed them in the same over to leave Delhi reeling at 81 for three. Iyer was bowled while making room for a big shot while Pant's mistimed hit aimed over midwicket, was pouched at third man.
Delhi had lost two of their main batsmen shortly after Pant punished veteran Harbhajan Singh for two sixes and a four in the 10th over, which leaked 17 runs. The momentum the Delhi innings picked up from the Harbhajan over did not last long. Playing for pride after another sorry season, Delhi batsmen looked out of sorts.