In a game that went down to the very last over, Punjab Kings, guided by the fifty of Sam Curran, triumphed over Delhi Capitals to inaugurate a new stadium and adorn it with a nail-biter of a win by 4 wickets.
What entailed in Mullanpur was nothing short of a heart-stopper as both sides exchanged blow after blow till the very last over of the match.
Delhi, who were sent to bat first, got off to a thunderous start with the help of Aussie openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, walloping bowlers for boundaries galore at will.
They were followed by yet another swift innings from Shai Hope, who kept the momentum going to help propel DC to 86 runs by 10 overs.
DC skipper Rishabh Pant may have been out of action for a moment, but boy has the spirited wicketkeeper-batter not proven that he will bounce back, slowly but steadily. And it took no longer than one match in the IPL for Pant to show glimpses of his old self to the delight of all Indians.
The swashbuckling batter played a short but sweet innings of 18 off 13 balls, before he was
But, what followed was a sudden collapse of the batting order that left DC in a position of jeopardy.
But, the man who came to the rescue was DC’s Impact Player Abhishek Porel who top-scored with an unbeaten 32 off only 10 balls and lifted DC to a competitive total of 174 after an early batting collapse.
Punjab retaliated with their openers as well, as skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow went ballistic on DC’s bowlers, piling on the pressure early.
Just when it seemed like Dhawan was getting into the full groove, a stunner from Ishant Sharma, in his sceond over, knocked the stumps off clean, dismissing the skipper.
Ishant Sharma produced yet another moment of instinctive genius int he same over with a direct run-out from impact player Prabsimran’s shot to get rid of Bairstow at the other end.
But, then disaster struck for Delhi as Ishant twisted his ankle when he charged in from the deep to field the ball at midwicket, leading to him having to depart from the field and thereby removing a major bowling option from Pant’s side.
Today was also the battle of the Impact Players as Punjab’s Prabhsimran Singh came out guns blazing to partner up with Sam Curran and put on a fiery showcase to help propel his side closer to the target.
But, then came Kuldeep Yadav, whose introduction into the attack proved to be lethal, as the chinaman scalped two in quick succession to once again turn the tide.
It was at this moment that Sam Curran took on the responsibility and went on a composed blitz, nothcing up a fine fifty of his own, to help PBKS inch to the target.
But, the final punch was delivered by Liam Livingstone who, under pressure, delivered for Punjab as he launched one straight down the ground to round things off with a blistering six.
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