A Steve Smith-less Rising Pune Supergiants have crumbled to a 97-run defeat in the Indian Premier League.
The Australian Test skipper missed the game due to an upset stomach, with 28-year-old Ajinkya Rahane captaining the side against the Delhi Daredevils in his absence.
A maiden T20 century for Sanju Samson laid the platform for Delhi's 4-205 after the Daredevils lost the toss and were sent in.
South Australian tweaker Adam Zampa finally picked up Samson's wicket for 102.
Without Smith and Manoj Tiwary, who lost his father on Tuesday morning, the Supergiants were dismissed for just 108.
Although Ajinkya Rahane (10) was the first to go with the score at 24 after three overs, the Supergiants lost wickets consistently and lasted 16 overs.
Zaheer Khan was the destroyer with the ball, taking 3-20 from three overs, while Pat Cummins also chipped in with 2-24.
England allrounder and record signing Ben Stokes suffered more final-over punishment, conceding 23 from his final six balls to bring back memories of his World T20 heartache when Carlos Braithwaite smacked four consecutive sixes to fire West Indies to glory in India just over a year ago.
Stokes had conceded only 18 runs from his first three overs before South Africa allrounder Chris Morris cut loose, leaving him with figures of 0-41.
Stokes did not fare much better with the bat as he was caught behind off Cummins for just two in Pune's unsuccessful run chase.
Share
