Ashok Dinda rattles Delhi with fiery three-wicket display

A three-wicket display from Ashok Dinda helped Pune beat Delhi by 19 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in the Indian Twenty20 competition in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

Pune's captain, MS Dhoni, won the toss and opted to bowl first on a surface that favoured the spinners. The decision paid dividends as Dinda troubled Delhi's batsmen from the onset. His first delivery to Quinton de Kock swung prodigiously and rapped him on the pad. The appeal was turned down by the umpire who adjudged it heading down the legside.

Dinda then produced a similar delivery in his second over that trapped de Kock lbw for just two. He then rattled Delhi's out of form opener Shreyas Iyer, with a bouncer, that he miscued to deep square leg. The double-blow pegged Delhi on the back foot early and leg spinner, Adam Zampa, with 11 wickets this season, added to their woes. He first drew Sanju Sampson out of his crease and had him stumped, with a perfect leg break, and then accounted for Rishabh Pant and Nair in his next two overs. Daredevils were reduced to 70 for 5 in 14.3 overs.

They never really recovered from the early collapse, as Dinda - in his second spell - dismissed JP Duminy, who scooped a low wide yorker to short fine leg. Delhi managed just 121 in their innings. Dinda finished with figures of 3 for 20, while Zampa claimed 3 for 21.

Delhi required early wickets, but Ajinkya Rahane and Usman Khwaja got Pune off to a steady start. The duo added 31 runs before Khwaja was dismissed for a 13-ball 19. Rain then interrupted play for nearly an hour. When play resumed, Pune required 65 off 70 balls. Sixteen balls after the first interruption, rain made another appearance. This spell brought an end to the game.