Delhi Daredevils young stars boomed big time on Thursday, with an explosive Rishabh Pant (97 off 43 balls) and a vibrant Sanju Samson (61 off 31 balls) thrashed Gujarat Lions bowlers all over the Ferozeshah Kotla, New Delhi and help the team chase down a steep target of 209.

After Karun Nair’s dismissal rising stars Samson and Pant dominated the match and successfully won the third highest chase in the IPL.

Seven sixes were hit between the 10th and 12th over, ending the playoffs hopes for Gujarat. This will be the first time for Gujarat captain Suresh Raina to fail to make the playoffs in his IPL career.

Pant and Samson departed by the 15th over, but Delhi needed less than a run a ball from there on. The boundaries did not stop as Shreyas Iyer and James Faulkner contributed their bit as a massive 31 sixes were hit in the match, in which 20 were hit by Delhi alone.

The heart whelming moment of the day came when Pant was caught out on 97 and Raina walked up to him and patted his chest as he walked back to the pavilion.

Earlier, Raina showed that pressure does not cramp his usual style, scoring 77 off 43 balls to help his team accumulate what looked to be an impressive total. Raina was dropped twice at the begging of his innings, but nothing could dent his confidence.

Raina and Dinesh Karthik (65 off 34 balls) shared a crucial third-wicket partnership of 133 runs to put the pressure on the Daredevils. It was the effort of these two batsmen that help the Gujarat Lions to lay a solid foundation. The duo could have scored more if they stayed longer at crease, but the way Pant and Samson batted, it would not have mattered in the end.

AMandeep