Rishabh Pant smashed his maiden hundred in the Indian Premier League, helping Delhi Daredevils overcome a poor start to reach an imposing 187 for five against Sunrisers Hyderabad here tonight.
Pant (128 not out off 63 balls) was unstoppable in his unbeaten knock as toyed with arguably the best bowling attack in the competition, single-handedly giving a fighting chance to a struggling Delhi side.
His special knock comprising 15 fours and seven sixes also more than made up for his involvement in run-outs of captain Shreyas Iyer (3 off 7) and a set Hasrshal Patel (24 off 17).
Delhi decided to put scoreboard pressure on the opposition by deciding to bat but things did not go according to plan in the powerplay.
Shakib Al Hasan struck off consecutive balls in the fourth over to remove in-form opener Prithvi Shaw (9) and Englishman Jason Roy (11), leaving Delhi at 21 for two.
Shaw mistimed a pull off a short ball and Shikhar Dhawan latched on to it at cover.
Shakib sent back Roy the very next ball with a beauty that turned away just enough to take the edge to the wicket-keeper.
Pant released the pressure with a hat-trick of boundaries against Siddharth Kaul in the sixth over before doing the same to lead spinner Rashid Khan in the 12th over.
Delhi had crawled to 52 for three in 10 overs but Pant's power hitting quickly changed the course of the game.
He reached the 50-run mark with his trademark hit, a six over midwicket off Shakib. He got to the 100 in a similar fashion, muscling a full toss from Kaul for over midwicket.
The way Pant took on the likes of Shakib, Kaul and Bhuvenshwar Kumar was commendable.
The left-hander was also at his innovative best as he used the scoop shot over third man not once but thrice. Two of those scoops came in the final over bowled by Bhuvneshwar who proved to be the most expensive bowler for Sunrisers, leaking 51 runs in four overs. It was a rare off day for the India pacer.
The 20th over saw Pant dispatching Bhuvneshwar for three consecutive sixes, including a one-handed one that sailed over long-on.
Thanks to Pant, Delhi amassed 138 runs in the last 10 overs.
Pacer Kaul too had a forgettable outing as he conceded 48 runs off his four overs.
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