AGENCIES
NEW DELHI
A spectacular, virtuoso performance from Chris Morris was just insufficient to take the Delhi Daredevils to victory as they lost by one run to the Gujarat Lions in their IPL match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday.
After a brilliant bowling display Morris came to the wicket with his team in desperate trouble at 57-4 chasing 173 for victory and smashed an unbeaten 82 from just 32 balls with an astonishing eight sixes and four fours but, needing another boundary from the final ball, was only able to scramble two.
A spectacular century opening partnership followed by an equally dramatic collapse saw the Lions finish with a total of 172-6 after being put in to bat. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith added 112 for the first wicket in just over 10 overs to put the Lions on course for 200+ until Morris and Imran Tahir changed the course of the innings in spectacular fashion.
West Indian Smith was trapped lbw by Tahir’s googly for 53 from just 30 balls (5x4, 3x6) with McCullum belting 60 from 36 deliveries (6x4, 3x6) before Morris bowled him with a clever slower ball. A short ball undid Suresh Raina as he turned Morris to backward square leg before Tahir struck again when Dinesh Karthik (19 from 17) top edged a sweep to Duminy. Tahir claimed a third when Ishan Kishan toe-ended a drive to long off soon after Duminy had claimed the important wicket of Ravindra Jadeja with a top-edged cut into the gloves of Quinton de Kock.
The Lions had lost six wickets for the addition of just 30 runs with Tahir claiming 3-24 in his four overs and Duminy 1-4 in his solitary over. Morris bowled the final over to allrounders Dwayne Bravo (7*) and James Faulkner (22* from 13 balls) to finish with a creditable 2-35 from his four overs.
The Daredevils were in terrible trouble at 57-4 after Dhawal Kulkarni struck three times in his first two overs to remove the top three batsmen with just 16 runs on the board and when Rishabh Pant (20) was dismissed by James Faulkner for 20 (17 balls) the Daredevils were 57-4 after 10.4 overs. But J-P Duminy crafted a mature and cautious 48 from 43 balls giving Morris the licence to launch himself at everything in sight. His hitting was clean and pure and very quickly a seemingly impossible asking rate of 14 an over seemed probable.
But Duminy’s ill-advised swipe at a Bravo slower ball looped into the air for the bowler to accept the catch and there was just too much for Morris to do with Prawan Negi unable to get Bravo’s perfect final over yorkers away.
BRIEF SCORES
Gujarat Lions 172 for 6 (McCullum 60, Smith 53, Tahir 3-24, Morris 2-35) beat Delhi Daredevils 171 for 5 (Morris 82*, Kulkarni 3-19)
