Brief Scores:
Kings XI Punjab: 166-9 (Sarfaraz Khan 39, David Miller 43, Chris Morris 3-30) defeated
Delhi Capitals: 152 in 19.2 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 30, Rishabh Pant 39, Colin Ingram 38, Sam Curran 4-11) by 14 runs.
Kings XI Punjab clinched their third win of the VIVO IPL 2019 tournament when they defeated the Delhi Capitals by 14 runs yesterday evening. Given the opportunity of setting a target on their home ground, Kings XI Punjab posted 166-9 and then bowled out the visitors for 152. The Delhi Capitals were in control of their run-chase before Sam Curran returned for a second spell and turned the match on its head. The left-arm pacer picked up four wickets for four runs – which included a hat-trick – to polish off the Delhi Capitals’ lower order. The win would be KXIP’s sixth consecutive win at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
The dramatic shift of balance happened when Rishabh Pant gave the hosts the opening they were searching for. When Pant was dismissed, Delhi Capitals needed 23 runs from 20 balls with six wickets remaining. The visitors pressed the self-destruct button at that stage, lost a flurry of wickets and allowed Kings XI Punjab to wrest control of the match. From 144-3, the Delhi Capitals slumped to 152 all out.
After Ravichandran Ashwin had Prithvi Shaw caught behind off the first ball of the run-chase, the Delhi Capitals’ chase was put back on course – thanks to two partnerships; Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer added 61 runs for the second wicket, and Rishabh Pant and Colin Ingram stitched together a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket that took their team to the brink. And then the dramatic collapse that cost the Delhi Capitals the match.
Earlier in the evening, Kings XI Punjab’s middle order rescued the team and helped them to a competitive total. Put in to bat, the hosts got off to a brisk start but lost the top three within the eighth over. KL Rahul struck two crisp boundaries and collected one pulled six before being trapped LBW by a sharp inswinger, Sam Curran – a surprising choice for opener in place of Chris Gayle – was LBW to Sandeep Lamicchane’s leg-spin, while Mayank Agarwal was run out at the non-striker’s end taking off for a non-existent run.
Sarfaraz Khan and David Miller added 62 runs for the fourth wicket in what would be the biggest partnership of the innings, while Mandeep Singh (29 not out from 21 balls) provided the end-overs flourish. KXIP lost a bit of momentum in the final five overs when they lost five wickets; yet they finished with a total of 166-9.
Sarfaraz Khan’s innings of 39 had a mixture of some effortless strokes and one audacious scoop over the wicket-keeper’s head. Sarfaraz walked out to bat at number four and raced to 35 from 23 balls. He then took the foot off the accelerator when Miller began to open his shoulders. Sarfaraz was dismissed in the 14th over when, almost against the run of play, he feathered an edge to the wicket-keeper.
When Colin Ingram and Rishabh Pant were batting for the Delhi Capitals, the run-chase appeared to be a matter of formality. The two left-handers were absolutely dominating proceedings, going hard at the bowling and finding the boundary regularly. Pant’s 39 from 26 balls included three fours and two sixes, while Ingram’s 38 from 29 balls was decorated with four boundaries and a six. Pant was dismissed when, attempting a heave, he didn’t make contact with the ball and had his middle stump uprooted. Six deliveries later, Ingram hit one down the throat of the fielder patrolling the long-off boundary. Coaches so often preach that it is the responsibility of the set batsman to complete the job. Delhi Capitals lost out on two crucial points because their two set-batsmen didn’t carry on and finish the job.
David Miller’s 43 was the top-score of the match. The South African was cautious early on, scoring 14 from 14 balls before he upped the ante. In the 13th over, he got stuck into Harshal Patel, hitting him for two boundaries. The left-hander was lucky to be handed a reprieve in the same over, when the bowler couldn’t hold on to a return catch; he scored two more boundaries and added 12 more to his score. He was dismissed for 43 in the seventeenth over when he top-edged an attempted swat off the bowling of compatriot Chris Morris.
After Mohammed Shami provided Kings XI Punjab the opening they needed by dismissing Pant, Sam Curran ran through the rest of the DC batting line-up. Given the ball to bowl the 18th over, the left-arm pacer had Ingram caught on the boundary with his fourth delivery and dismissed Harshal Patel caught behind with the last ball of the over. He came on to bowl the 20th over and bowled Kagiso Rabada first ball and followed it up with the wicket of Sandeep Lamichhane to complete the hat-trick. Curran’s figures were sensational: 2.2 overs, 11 runs, 4 wickets.
Chris Morris was the Delhi Capitals’ most successful bowler – returning figures of 3-30. But it was the young leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane who was most impressive. The youngster from Nepal bowled a consistent length both the right-handers and left-hander, and deceived the batsmen with his mixture with his variations. Handed the ball in the fourth over, Lamichhane had an immediate impact when he trapped Sam Curran LBW with one that was bowled flatter and skidded straight on. He struck for the second time in his final over when his leg-break turned just enough to find the outside edge of Sarfaraz Khan’s outside edge. Lamichhane finished with figures of 4-0-27-2.
(IPL Website)
