Pant had come lower down the order for Delhi in the last two matches and could only score four and 20.
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Rishabh Pant smashed a 40-ball 69 in a 115-run opening stand with Quinton de Kock, propelling Delhi Daredevils to a massive eight-wicket victory in a chase of 150 runs against Gujarat Lions in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League in Rajkot.
The Lions lost two further wickets including James Faulkner for seven from 6 balls but late hitting from Jadeja, who remained 36 not out from 26 balls, got his side up to 149-7 from their 20 overs.
Gujarat openers Brendon McCullum (1) and Dwayne Smith (15), who have built up an extremely successful combination, did not click for once.
It was left to Dinesh Karthik to provide the solidity in the middle, while Jadeja rediscovered the batsman within him to take Delhi to a total of some respectability.
Delhi had no such trouble at the start of their innings, Pant leading the onslaught with some glorious strokes and left-hander De Kock offering great support. Delhi Daredevils knocked off 93 runs from the target in 10 overs without losing a wicket.
The wickets went to Shahbaz Nadeem, who bowled well, and Zaheer Khan, who was the master strategist.
In the process, the 18-year-old cricketer notched up his fifty in a mere 25 balls and became the second-youngest player to score a half-century in the IPL. The Lions were tottering at 3-24 in 4 overs. The high-flying Gujarat Lions were brought down to earth by SRH’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar before David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan made it a one-sided affair in Rajkot on April 21.
Can Delhi bowlers halt the Smith-McCullum juggernaut? Karthik was dismissed in the 18th over for 53 – his second half-century of the season – when he made room and attempted to hit through the off-side, but didn’t make contact and Mohammed Shami’s delivery disturbed the woodwork.
Bravo and Jadeja have been handy for Raina with the ball but it is their performance with the bat which is a matter of concern.
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Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem was the most successful among the Delhi bowlers with figures of 2-23 in three overs. Not even de Kock’s wicket, holing out off Shivil Kaushik’s chinaman bowling for 46, would alter the script, though Gujarat could have run Delhi closer if Jadeja had not over-stepped while getting Sanju Samson out stumped.
