James Hopes did not keep the suspense hanging on for too long as Jesse Ryder ambled in to send down the last over of another high-scoring IPL-VI tussle in the presence of nearly 35,000 spectators at the D.Y. Patil Stadium here on Sunday.
Hopes straight-drove the first ball for a six to virtually clinch a first victory for Delhi Daredevils and inflict a first defeat on Pune Warriors. The Australian then connected the second ball from the New Zealander well enough to find the delivery at third man as the Daredevils surpassed the home team's score of 187 for five wickets.
It was in the 18th over that Daredevils sighted the target with Aaron Finch's two big boundary shots and a total of 20 taken of off left-arm seamer Shrikant Wagh.
Big hitting
The contest sent the pulse racing right through with the top batsmen of both teams showing their mettle. The Daredevils seemed to have lost their way after the dismissals of David Warner and Virender Sehwag and after Yuvraj Singh, following a stupendous exhibition of power-hitting, caused the downfall of four batsmen.
The Pune skipper removed Finch (25, 12b, 1x4, 2x6) and Venugopala Rao (31, 20b, 1x4, 3x6) in his last over but their 47-run roaring stand in 25 balls had almost indicated the outcome of the seesaw battle.
Left-hander Ryder's was the first of the heavyweight batting performances of the day. He powered off-spinner Venugopala for two on-side sixes, lifting the second straight into his dressing room balcony.
His big blows, as also a couple of productive strikes by Graeme Smith, helped Pune race to 63 for one off the first legal 36 balls.
The Daredevils' riposte in as many balls was 67 for no loss with Warner taking the initiative by pummelling Alfonso Thomas, Wagh and Wayne Parnell to put on the contest on an even keel.
Sehwag's decision to bowl was based obviously on the outcome of the previous matches here wherein Pune won against Kings XI Punjab and Kochi Tuskers Kerala while chasing and that his team itself had lost two straight matches, unable to post a substantial total, against Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.
It was a bold move by Sehwag, for he did not have the services of fast bowler Morne Morkel, reportedly down with an upset stomach.
The South African's place was taken by Umesh Yadav.
As the proceedings began it became clear that Ryder (60, 27b, 5x4, 5x6) could not be contained. After targeting Venugopala, he turned his attention to Pathan and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem.
Dinda dropped him on 46 at deep mid wicket off Nadeem and immediately Finch let slip a shot to the boundary. Ryder finally fell, hitting Nadeem to Finch in the deep.
Ryder had also been severe on Yadav; he and Mithun Manhas went hammer and tongs against the right-arm seamer and hammered him for 21 runs in his first over. This was to be the second costliest over for the Daredevils.
The departure of Ryder and Uthappa brought the Daredevils back into the game, but Yuvraj, calm and showing common sense for a while, provided the finishing touches by demonstrating his typical brand of aggression.
Sehwag had the option to pick either Pathan or Dinda to bowl the last over. It became obvious after Dinda's second last over in which he conceded only five runs as against 12 by Pathan in his third.
Parnell pulled the first ball to mid-wicket to bring his captain on strike. The next five legal deliveries and a wide yielded 25 runs with Yuvraj blowing away the right-arm seamer for a four and three sixes.
It was a fitting finish to the Warriors' innings.
Scoreboard
Pune Warriors: J. Ryder c Finch b Nadeem 60 (27b, 5x4, 5x6), G. Smith c Irfan b Dinda 12 (14b, 2x4), M. Manhas c Warner b Hopes 20 (18b, 1x4, 1x6), Yuvraj (not out) 66 (32b, 4x4, 5x6), R. Uthappa c Warner b Nadeem 4 (10b), M. Mishra c Sehwag b Dinda 7 (11b), W. Parnell (not out) 10 (9b, 1x4), Extras (b-1, lb-1, nb-1, w-5) 8, Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs) 187
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-82, 3-98, 4-117, 5-146.
Delhi Daredevils bowling: Rao 1-0-14-0, Dinda 4-0-42-2, Irfan 3-0-28-0, Yadav, 4-0-36-0, Hopes 4-0-26-1, Nadeem 4-0-39-2.
Delhi Daredevils: D. Warner (run out) 46 (28b, 6x4, 2x6), V. Sehwag b Ryder 37 (23b, 6x4), Irfan Pathan c Wagh b Yuvraj 14 (16b, 1x4), N. Ojha st. Uthappa b Yuvraj 11 (9b, 1x6), M. Wade lbw b Sharma 3 (4b), V. Rao c b Yuvraj 31 (20b, 1x4, 3x6), A. Finch c & b Yuvraj 25 (12b, 1x4, 2x6), J. Hopes (not out) 13 (4b, 1x4, 1x6), S. Nadeem (not out) 0 (0b), Extras (b-1, w-9) 10, Total (for seven wkts. in 19.2 overs) 190.
Fall of wickets: 1-75, 2-97, 3-116, 4-116, 5-120, 6-167, 7-180.
Pune Warriors 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.
Man-of-the-match: Yuvraj Singh
