Pant, Iyer strike fifties in Daredevils' big total in rain-hit game

Young Rishabh Pant cracked a blistering 69 while captain Shreyas Iyer (50) hit his fourth fifty of the season as Delhi Daredevils posted a challenging 196 for six against Rajasthan Royals in a rain-truncated IPL match here tonight.

The Royals invited Daredevils to bat but were guilty of feeding the home batsmen deliveries which were either too short or too full, making the job easy for the hosts after rain made it a 18-overs per side affair.

The young Prithvi Shaw (47) was yet again in sublime touch and raised a 73-run stand with his captain for the second wicket after the side lost Colin Munro (0) in the fourth ball of the innings.

After Shaw's dismissal, Iyer and Rishabh Pant combined to punish the wayward Royals' bowlers, adding 92 runs for the third wicket in just 7.1 overs.

Iyer hit his fourth fifty in last five matches as he consumed 35 balls for his 50, hitting three sixes and as many fours.

Pant hammered the Royals bowlers all around the park in his 29-ball knock, studded with seven fours and five sixes.

Jaydev Unadkat (3/46) removed both of them in the 15th over but by then the Daredevils had put up enough runs on the board.

Vijay Shankar (17) came out to hit some lusty hits to help the hosts get close to 200-run mark. Rain began to lash the ground yet again and brought curtains on the Daredevils innings after 17.1 overs.

Shaw was stroking the ball nicely as he picked the lengths quickly but ended up giving a caught-and-bowled chance on a turning ball to leg-break bowler Shreyas Gopal in the eighth over of the innings.

His 47 came off 25 balls as he punished the Royals bowlers with four fours and as many sixes.

After two quiet overs, Shaw began the fireworks as he creamed off 16 runs from Dhawal Kulkarni's over, hitting the paceman for two sixes and a four.

Kulkarni had a difficult chance in his follow through in the last ball of the over but could not hold on to it.

Shaw was in good touch and continued to find boundaries. The next bowler in his firing line was Unadkat, whom he smashed for two fours and a six.

Iyer joined the party by launching Gopal for two sixes. The first was off a full-length ball and the next was pitched short.

The spinner dismissed Shaw but conceded his fourth six of the innings when new man Pant launched him for a massive six over long-on.

Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes were the only bowlers who had managed to contain the rampaging Delhi batsmen a bit but Pant did not spare the West Indian when he bowled full and found the ball in the stands.

In no time, the two batsmen raised a 50-run stand, taking just 27 balls between them.