IPL 2018: Kings XI Punjab beat Delhi Daredevils by 4 runs in a nail-biting finish
Punjab have defended 143 here - the lowest total defended this season so far, I guess. Shaw got Delhi off to a flier but none of the other batsmen, except Iyer, got going. With 17 needed off the last over, Mujeeb kept his cool to see his side through.
FollowThe Ravichandran Ashwin-led side has another win under its belt. Defended yet another total, one which wasn't too big, with class. With just 143 on the board, the visitors needed a big bowling performance, and the entire unit stood up. Barring the skipper, who was economical himself, everyone chipped in with the wickets and kept it relatively tight as well.
A score of 143 doesn't generally yield a close contest. But Delhi failed to take advantage of their good bowling after the first innings as they lost too many wickets at crucial moments. Gambhir scored just 4 runs from 13, while Maxwell scored 12. Shreyas Iyer tried his best scoring 57, but fell short in the end. Mujeeb, Tye and Rajpoot took 2 wickets each for Punjab.
Talk about captaincy from Ashwin. He bowled out Ankit Rajpoot when he was bowling well and continuously rotated the bowlers. The steal for me was to trust Barinder for the penultimate over despite being expensive. The 19th only cost 4 runs and swung the game KXIP's way. Overall, the bowlers used the slowness on the pitch to great effect by banging the ball in and asking batsmen to force pace. So then, it's a hat-trick of wins for Ashwin and Co., and they are sitting pretty at the top of the table with 10 points.
Punjab have posted a low total of 143/8 against Delhi in the 22nd match of the T20 league. KL Rahul started well, but was unable to last long, as scored just 23 from 15 balls. Karun Nair was Punjab's highest scorer with 34 runs from 32 balls. Mayank Agarwal and Miller scored 21 and 26. Plunkett was Delhi's star bowler, taking 3 wickets and giving away just 17 runs.
Liam Plunkett, making his comeback in the team, was the pick of the bowlers. He scalped three wickets and kept the run flow in check. KXIP batsmen, without Chris Gayle, looked totally out of touch and failed to hit big shots and rotate the strike. It seemed that the home advantage played well in favour of Delhi Daredevils.
KXIP 143/8 (20.0 Ovs)
DD 139/8 (20.0 Ovs)
Kings XI Punjab won by 4 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Ankit Rajpoot
