IPL 2017: Shreyas Iyer's 57-ball 96 helps Delhi beat Gujarat by 2 wickets

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Kanpur, May 10: Young Shreyas Iyer missed a magnificent century by four runs but that was enough for Delhi Daredevils to edge past Gujarat Lions by two wickets in an inconsequential Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Green Park Stadium here on Wednesday (May 10).

; Match scorecard

If Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson demolished the Gujarat Lions in their away encounter at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi last Thursday, it was Iyer, who almost single-handedly tamed the Lions in their own den with a 57-ball 96, his highest IPL score.

Languishing at the bottom of the IPL standings and already out of contention for the play-offs, both the sides had nothing to lose in the contest. With the win, Delhi rose to sixth while Gujarat are at the penultimate spot in the eight-team table.

Chasing a mammoth 196, Delhi lost half their side for 105 runs before Iyer and Australian Pat Cummins' cameo (24 of 13 balls) guided the visitors to the win.

Gujarat on the other hand, were electric on the field with skipper Suresh Raina and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, accounting for three brilliant run-outs of the in-form Pant (4), Marlon Samuels (1) and Corey Anderson (6).

Delhi failed to get the momentum with the run-outs having lost opener Samson, bowled by left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan after scoring a 7-ball 10 before losing Pant immediately off an excellent throw at the stumps from Raina.

Karun Nair (30) and Iyer then stabilised the innings with a 57-run third wicket stand before the strategic time-out once again did the trick for the home side, in the form of Nair's dismissal.

Nair, after facing 15 balls and helping the ball to the boundary on five occasions and once over it, lofted a slower delivery from Australian James Faulkner only for Dwayne Smith to take a reverse-cupped catch at cover.

Jadeja then made his presence felt, effecting two quick run-outs, first of West Indian Samuels and then New Zealander Anderson to make things worse for the visitors.

Tottering at 105/5, medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni added to Delhi's frustration with the wicket of Carlos Bratwaite (11), who got a top edge for the bowler to take a simple catch at cover.

It was after Iyer and Cummins came together to milk 29 runs off 10 balls when Delhi could smell the victory. Iyer first dispatched Sangwan for two consecutive boundaries and then meted out the same treatment to Kulkarni.

Cummins too joined the party, using the long handle to good effect as the Australian raised a valuable 61-run stand for the seventh wicket with Iyer to take the visitors within sniffing distance of a win.

Cummins, in his attempt to get to the target quickly, lofted Faulkner to long-on only for Smith to take a comfortable catch. The Australian's 13-ball knock was laced with two boundaries and a massive six off the same bowler.

With 14 needed off seven deliveries, tailender Mohammed Shami (4 not out) managed to push one to the boundary to reduce the margin before Basil Thampi in his second delivery of the final over, got one in the blockhole to blow Iyer's middle stump.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra (8 not out) then whacked two consecutive fours to seal the deal in favour of Delhi.

Earlier, Aaron Finch's flashy half century helped Gujarat Lions recover from the early jolts and post a mammoth total. Iyer got the support of Pat Cummins lower down the order to guide Delhi reach home.

Finch scored a 39-ball 69, laced with six fours and four sixes to raise a 92-run fourth wicket stand with wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (40) to help the Lions recover from a precarious position after losing the early wickets of opener Dwayne Smith (8), Suresh Raina (6) and Ishan Kishan (34).

Languishing at the bottom of the IPL standings and already out of contention for the play-offs, both the sides have nothing to lose in the contest.

Put in to bat, Smith was the first batsman to be dismissed while attempting a dicey single after adding 21 runs with Kishan before skipper Raina fell prey to Pat Cummins' penultimate ball of his first over of the match.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra then jolted the Gujarat side in the very next over with the wicket of young Kishan, who looked good for his 25-ball knock, laced with five fours and a six, before a top edge landed in the safe hands of Delhi skipper Zaheer Khan at short fine leg.

Reeling at 56/3, Karthik and Finch began the recovery sensibly, taking the odd singles and helping the bad balls to the boundary as the run rate dropped a bit midway into the innings.

Finch was the aggressor of the duo, dispatching Mishra for consecutive sixes before Karthik joined the party as the Lions reached the three figure mark in the 12th over.

Delhi found it tough to break the partnership with both the right-handers stepping up the gas to race to 148/3 by the 16th over, before West Indian Carlos Brathwaite managed to pack the Tamil Nadu-born stumper, who had faced 28 balls by then and struck four fours and a six.

Thereafter, Finch, who by now had reached his 50 off 32 balls, struck a few blows to add 32 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (13 not out) before Shami's full delivery blew the Australian's middle stump.

Towards the end, James Faulkner (14 not out) and Jadeja added 15 runs as the home side milked 61 runs off the final five overs.

IANS