In a hot afternoon game at PBKS’ new home Mullanpur, the Punjab Kings won the toss & sent the visitors, the Delhi Capitals to bat. Delhi had a promising start. It was exactly the way you expect the Australian opening batters to come out. All guns blazing.
Mitchell Marsh slammed the bowlers & the opening batters owned the first 4 overs. PBKS bowler Arshdeep Singh later went on dismissing Marsh (20 off 12). With 54 runs on the board & a casualty in the form of Mitch Marsh’s wicket, DC had a decent powerplay. David Warner (29 off 21) lead the charge but was soon perished on the bowling of Harshal Patel.
The stadium erupted as the comeback king, Rishabh Pant walked in. But he couldn’t contribute much with the bat falling prey to Harshal Patel. If anyone was capable of a lower order charge for Delhi Capitals then it was only Azar Patel. Stubbs (5 off 8) had to depart as Shashank at mid off grabbed a screamer.
Punjab Kings came out to bat but soon both the openers were back in the sheds early. Ishant Sharma struck right in the third over of the second innings. Shikhar Dhawan (22 off 16) tried to accelerate but failed. And so was the case with Jonny Bairstow (9 off 3) who also was sent back into the hut.
It was then Sam Curran (63 off 47) who took charge with his extraordinary shot selection & power hitting. He went on hitting 6 fours and 1 six. Livingstone’s unbeaten 38 off 21 powered the hosts to a last-over finish at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. The hosts won by 4 wickets.
Punjab Kings next play against the RCB on Monday, 25th March 2024. The sheer squad would be running high on momentum against the RCB who still hasn’t opened their account. On the other hand the Delhi Capitals need to regroup and play against the Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, 28th of March 2024.
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye.
