Gujarat Lions overcame a valiant all-round effort from Delhi Daredevils' Chris Morris (2/35 and 82 not out off 32 balls) to beat the hosts by one run at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday. Gujarat thus managed to remain on top of the table and have now won five out of six matches this season.
Delhi skipper Zaheer Khan won the toss and opted to bowl, keeping with what has become a tradition this season. Of the 22 matches played prior to this one, 19 had been won by the team batting second. The wicket at the Kotla looked dry and dew looked to threaten the team bowling second.
Gujarat openers Brendon McCullum (60 off 36 balls) and Dwayne Smith (53 off 30 balls) decided to negate their disadvantage by providing an explosive start, notching up 112 runs off just 64 deliveries. Both batsmen, who are known for their lusty blows, hit half-centuries, before falling in the space of four balls.
The wickets sparked a mini-collapse as Gujarat slumped from 112/0 to 142/6, eliminating any chance of crossing 200, which looked likely in the first half of the innings. James Faulkner (22 off 13 balls) played a late cameo to take the visitors to a competitive 172/6. However, Imran Tahir (3/24) bowled brilliantly in the middle overs to keep his team in the game.
Delhi got off to a horrible start in their chase, losing three wickets in the first four overs. By the end of the 11th over, they needed an improbable 115 runs off 54 balls to win. This was when Morris came in to join his compatriot JP Duminy, who had played a watchful innings to preserve his wicket. Together, the South African pair caused carnage in Delhi and ruthlessly threatened to snatch the game away from Gujarat.
Prior to this game, Morris' highest Twenty20 score was 41. He went ahead to clock the fastest fifty of the season, and third-quickest in IPL history, taking just 17 balls. Duminy, who was on 21 off 25 balls when Morris came in, also stepped on the gas and hit 48 off 43 balls before his top edge was lapped up by Dwayne Bravo in the 18th over. At the end of that over, the equation for Delhi had reduced to 18 required off 12 balls. However, Praveen Kumar bowled a brilliant penultimate over, conceding only four runs, to put the pressure back on the hosts.
With 14 required off the last over, Morris struck a boundary off the first delivery after the ball managed to sneak through James Faulkner's hands at point. Unfortunately for the hosts, that was to be the only boundary of the over as they went on to fall short by a solitary run.
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