Raipur: A cameo from David Warner and some good disciplined bowling from Irfan Pathan and Umesh Yadav helped Delhi beat Pune by 15 runs in Raipur. This was Delhi's 2nd win in this year's Indian Premier League.
After Pune Warriors had made a strong start in chase of a target of 165, Daredevils bowlers hit back in the final overs to help their team clinch the issue by 15 runs, their just the second win of the season. With this win, Daredevils have finally managed to rise in the points table. The bottom place is occupied by Pune now.
It was a battle between two bottom-placed teams, yet it generated tremendous enthusiasm among the spectators as Raipur witnessed its first big-ticket cricket event. To them it did not matter whether the 'home' team Delhi, which has adopted the city for a couple of games, won or lost. They had come to be entertained and be part of a new experience. And they were not disappointed as they saw Indian stars like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh perform for them in a keenly-contested affair.
After DD had notched up 164 for five, PWI, led by Yuvraj Singh and Luke Wright, were going well. But Umesh Yadav accounted for the duo in the 18th over to give DD the upper hand. Getting 35 runs in the last two overs proved beyond the reach of the remaining PWI batsmen.
Earlier, when DD were sent in to bat by Pune, they slipped to 96 for four. DD were, not for the first time this season, in deep trouble. However, David Warner and Kedar Jadhav rebuilt the innings to bring DD back into the game. Warner, pushed down the order, salvaged things with his powerful hitting. He struck the ball hard and handsome to attain his third fifty this season.
Earlier, Pune Warriors India captain Aaron Finch won the toss and chose to bowl.
Kane Richardson is making his IPL debut, ahead of Mitchell Marsh. Ishwar Pandey is out too.
For Delhi, Morne Morkel, Ben Rohrer and Unmukt Chand come back.
Teams
Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Unmukt Chand, Ben Rohrer, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Irfan Pathan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, Ashish Nehra
Pune Warriors: Robin Uthappa (wk), Aaron Finch (captain), Luke Wright, Yuvraj Singh, Steven Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Mithun Manhas, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Kane Richardson
Brief scores
Delhi Daredevils 164 for 5 (Warner 51*, Dinda 3-31)
Pune Warriors 149 for 4 (Finch 37, Uthappa 37, Yadav 2-24)
Result Delhi Daredevils won by 15 runs
Points Delhi Daredevils 2, Pune Warriors 0
MOM David Warner (Delhi Daredevils)