Feisty Delhi Capitals (DC) manage to overcome Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a close contest
Punjab Kings – 210/5 (Priyansh Arya 56 off 33 balls, Shreyas Iyer 59 off 36 balls) lost to Delhi Capitals – 216/7 in 19 overs (Axar Patel 56 off 30 balls, David Miller 51 off 28 balls) by 3 wickets
Man of the Match: Madhav Tiwari
The high-stakes encounter between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 55th IPL league match was a nail-biter, with DC managing to pip the post with an over and 3 wickets in hand. DC won the toss and elected to bowl first. Their erratic initial bowling almost cost them the match, forcing them to play catch-up for the remainder of the match. In the end, they managed to contain the powerful PBKS lineup and stumbled their way to the target, with hopes still alive for a place in the playoffs.
Priyansh cuts loose in the first three overs
The pitch in Dharamsala is known to aid swing, and the quest for swing from the bowlers aided Priyansh Arya to launch his innings against Mitchell Starc. A full ball on the off was caressed over extra cover for a six, followed by a wild short ball that then flew over the keeper for a boundary. Trying to find his radar, Starc bowled on the legs to be launched over deep midwicket for a six. The over ended with a scintillating cover drive by Prabhsimran and the over went for 22 runs.
Ngidi started with pace on deliveries and was greeted with two sixes by Priyansh, one over deep midwicket and another over extra cover. The two main DC pacers were being taken apart by Priyansh, with the first three overs having gone for 51 runs. DC were looking at a long night ahead of chasing leather.
DC pacers start to exert control
Auqib Nabi, who had been taken for 12 runs in his first over, came back in the fourth over and, despite conceding a boundary off a no-ball, started getting his length right and bowling some jaffas. He showed just why he is regarded so highly in the domestic circuit as he had the ball on a string, and was unlucky not to prise out a wicket or two. DC decided to bowl him out as he, along with Mukesh, began to control PBKS’ scoring rate.
Prabhsimran was struggling to get going and was not given room to free his arms. He flicked one such delivery from Mukesh directly to long leg to be dismissed for 18 off 15 balls. PBKS were 88/1 after 8 overs and had scored only 37 in the last 5 overs.
Madhav Tiwari, the young all-rounder, was given the opportunity to play this match and troubled Priyansh with his shorter length balls. He, however, managed to get Priyansh’s wicket off a slightly fuller one as the batsman sliced the off-side ball straight to deep cover. The catch was taken by another youngster, Sahil Parakh, who incidentally sported a similar hairstyle as Madhav, leading to some confusion among the audience. Priyansh had scored 56 off 33 deliveries.
Shreyas Iyer and Cooper Connolly tried stabilising the innings, with Connolly struggling to find his timing. Shreyas kept the scoreboard moving, and was helped with a couple of streaky boundaries. The pitch was aiding the seamers and getting hold of test-match-length balls was not easy. The initial scoring rate meant that a run rate of around 10 was always maintained and PBKS concentrated on keeping wickets.
Shreyas hit some dazzling shots on the off side. He was completely deceived by a Ngidi slower ball, but the ball hit such a sweet spot of the bat that it kept on sailing over long off for a six, with the bowler looking on in disbelief. The quality of the bats nowadays does make it seem more and more a batsman’s game. He reached his half-century off 32 balls with a stunning horizontal bat six over deep extra cover.
At the other end, Connolly, looking for room, started to go towards the leg side, carving Starc for a six and Ngidi for a boundary. He was undone by a brilliant slower bouncer by Tiwari, as he struggled to generate power and holed out to deep midwicket. Starc bowled the 19th over and managed to get two wickets in two balls as Stoinis and Shashank Singh fell to aggressive shots. But he could not escape unscathed as a confident Suryansh Shedge plundered 16 runs in the remaining balls.
While the Indian bowlers did well, the two international bowlers, Starc and Ngidi, were quite expensive, with figures of 57/2 and 46/0 respectively. Madhav Tiwari, the all-rounder, was a major positive. With him being able to bowl his four overs for 40/2, spinners were not required to bowl at all. Ngidi did bowl a good 20th over and gave only 7 runs. PBKS finished at 210/5 and would have been quietly confident on their chances at this point.
PBKS dominates powerplay
The second innings started with DC under pressure, as this was a must-win match for them; losing this would mean the end of their playoff chances. Learning from the first innings, Arshdeep Singh bowled supremely and looked like picking up a wicket any time. He has blown hot and cold this IPL season, but on days like these, one is reminded why he is the leading Indian wicket-taker in T20Is. But it was Yash Thakur who got PBKS their first breakthrough as he sliced through Abishek Porel’s defence.
With 10/1 in 2 overs, KL Rahul started to swing wildly, and after a couple of lucky escapes, top-edged one off Arshdeep high into the night sky where Jansen ran back hard to overtake keeper Prabhsimran and held on to an absolute screamer near fine leg, with coach Ponting absolutely beaming with joy in the dugout.
Sahil Parakh strode out and played some breathtaking offside strokes, but was cramped and guided the ball straight to short third for Arshdeep’s 2nd wicket. DC finished the powerplay on 47/3 and were in serious trouble.
PBKS drop chances, and Axar and Miller capitalise
With the required rate escalating, Axar, playing as a pure batter this match, and Stubbs started forging a partnership in quick time. Stubbs was the recipient of another PBKS generosity as Arshdeep spilled a regulation catch off Stubbs at long on. Ben Dwarshuis, playing his first IPL match, was the unfortunate bowler, and to rub salt to injury, his next two balls were sent to the boundary.
The partnership was worth 41 when a miscommunication between the batsmen led Stubbs to go three-quarters down the pitch and sent back, only to be run out by Connolly’s brilliant direct hit. PBKS had the chance to close out the match, but David Miller, the next batsman, was dropped first ball by Shedge at deep square, again off Dwarshuis’ bowling.
Axar Patel had been batting at a rapid rate, but with the asking rate climbing to more than 12 an over by the eighth over, he needed more support. David Miller immediately started connecting and kept the rate under control. A flat six hammered over deep midwicket off Stoinis showed his intent to target the fifth bowler. Axar, on the other hand, had been using his feet to put the pacers off the hard lengths and managed to hit both Jansen and Dwarshuis for sixes. Anything shorter was hit behind the wicket both on the off and leg side for boundaries.
The PBKS bowlers became increasingly undisciplined as wides and extras accumulated, and the required rate remained around 12. Axar reached his half-century with three consecutive boundaries off Stoinis, but got out in the same over as he heaved a length ball to long on, and finished at 56 off 30 balls. By the end of the 15th over, 68 runs were still required, with 5 wickets in hand.
Miller was the key, and a couple of ill-advised slogs later, he regained his composure and blasted his international teammate Jansen for a four and a six in a 15-run over. Two consecutive sixers off Dwarshuis, one over long off and next over long on, brought him a 27-ball fifty. Trying for a third consecutive six, he top-edged a short ball high to be smartly caught by keeper Prabhsimran.
36 were required in 18 balls, and with spinner Chahal not bowling due to the conditions today, it meant that Stoinis would be bowling 12 of them. Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari, having a great day, ensured that the job got completed. Stoinis was taken for 19 in the 18th over as Ashutosh kept swinging and connecting well to reach 24 off 9 balls, before mistiming a short ball to be caught in the deep. Auqib Nabi had enough time to show off his all-rounder credentials as he dispatched two full tosses for 10 runs and finished the match with an over remaining.
DC keep themselves in the tournament, but PBKS would have been disappointed. For most of the match, they were ahead of their opponents, but were let down by their bowling and fielding and were unable to close out the match. They remain in fourth position, but cannot afford another slip-up now. DC would be encouraged by the performance of all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, who held his own, bowling as the fifth bowler and also played his part while chasing with a crucial little cameo of 18 off 8 balls.