MUMBAI, April 17 (PTI): Yuvraj Singh�s all-round show went in vain as Delhi Daredevils defeated Pune Warriors by three wickets in a high-scoring Indian Premier League clash to record their maiden victory in the fourth edition tournament here today.
Chasing an imposing target of 188, Delhi romped home with four balls to spare as David Warner (46), Virender Sehwag (37) Venugopal Rao (31) and Aaron Finch (25) shone with the bat. Earlier, opener Jesse Ryder (60) and skipper Yuvraj (66 not out) struck half-centuries to help Pune Warriors amass an imposing 187 for five.
Yuvraj then took four wickets and it looked that his team will go on to score its third successive win but the Delhi batsmen refused to buckle under pressure of chasing a massive total and came out victorious. Yuvraj though was adjudged Man-of-the-Match.
The visitors started splendidly with a 75-run opening stand between Warner and skipper Sehwag but a flurry of wickets reduced Delhi to 120 for five and they appeared to be heading towards another defeat.
Venugopal (31 in 20 balls) and Finch (25 in 12 balls) then raised a crucial stand of 47 runs in 4.1 overs for the sixth wicket to put them on the doorsteps of a fine victory.
James Hopes (13), who has stayed on to play in the IPL in spite of the death of his father back home in Australia, completed the victory in style by smashing Jesse Ryder for a six and a four in the first two balls of the final over.
Twenty runs came in the 18th over bowled by Shrikant Wagh that swung the match Delhi�s way. Earlier, after being invited to bat by Delhi, Ryder took full use of two reprieves by Ashok Dinda in bludgeoning his way to 60 off only 27 balls. He hit five huge sixes and as many fours.
During his stay, Ryder added 54 runs in 6.2 overs for the second wicket with Mithun Manjas (20 in 18 balls).
Yuvraj, who came in at the fall of Manhas� wicket, struck a quickfire 66 not out in 33 balls, with five massive sixes and four fours, to give Pune the impetus towards the end.
The skipper put on 41 runs in just 17 balls for the unfinished sixth wicket with Wayne Parnell (10 not out).
The Delhi bowlers, after having allowed Pune to go on a rampage in the first ten overs, came back strongly in the second half of the innings till Yuvraj smashed Ashok Dinda for 26 runs in the final over to undo the visitors� good work in the period after Ryder�s dismissal.
scorecard
Pune Warriors: J Ryder c Finch b Nadeem 60, G Smith c Pathan b Dinda 12, M Manhas c Warner b Hopes 20, Yuvraj not out 66, R Uthappa c Warner b Nadeem 4, M Mishra c Sehwag b Dinda 7, W Parnell not out 10. Extras: (B-1, LB-1, W-5, NB-1) 8. Total: (For five wickets in 20 overs) 187. Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-82, 3-98, 4-117, 5-146. Bowling: V Rao 1-0-14-0, Dinda 4-0-42-2, I Pathan 3-0-28-0, U Yadav 4-0-36-0, J Hopes 4-0-26-1, S Nadeem 4-0-39-2.
Delhi Daredevils: David Warner run out 46, Virender Sehwag b Ryder 37, I Pathan c Wagh b Yuvraj 14, N Ojha st Uthappa b Yuvraj 11, M Wade lbw b Sharma 3, V Rao c Jhunjhunwala b Yuvraj 31, A Finch c & b Yuvraj 25, J Hopes not out 13, S Nadeem not out 0. Extras: (B-1, W-9) 10. Total: (for 7 wickets in 19.2 overs) 190. Fall of wickets: 1-75, 2-97, 3-116, 4-116, 5-120, 6-167, 7-180. Bowling: Thomas 2-0-22-0, Wagh 3-0-38-0, Parnell 2-0-26-0, Sharma 4-0-29-1, Ryder 3.2-0-34-1, Jhunjhunwala 1-0-11-0, Yuvraj 4-0-29-4.
