The second night of this year’s IPL saw Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab lock horns in an extremely close contested game. On a Dubai wicket that had a fair amount of green patches, Punjab skipper KL Rahul won the toss and continued the trend of electing to field first.
DC openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw were circumspect in their approach as KXIP pacers Sheldon Cottrell and Mohammed Shami hit their areas consistently. Shami in particular looked terrific with the new ball as he got it to move off the deck, putting his beautiful seam position on display. Wickets weren’t hard to come by at all, as 3 DC batsmen succumbed to the pacer from Bengal. The men in blue were reeling at 13-3 after 4 overs, and their score at the end of the powerplay told a sorry tale. Skipper Shreyas Iyer then put up a 67 run partnership with young Rishabh Pant, which included 3 big blows from the captain’s blade.
Despite the 4th wicket partnership, Delhi looked in all sorts of trouble – as they slowly trudged to 100 after 17 overs. The next 18 balls produced something that nobody could’ve seen coming. Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was at the crease, and he belted Chris Jordan and Sheldon Cottrell for 57 in the last 3 overs! Sixes and fours galore as Stoinis brought up his fifty in a mere 20 balls, much to the amazement of everyone watching. This late cameo helped DC power through to a total of 157/8 in their 20 overs, when they didn’t look like they could even get to 140.
Marcus ‘Papi’ Stoinis brings up his amazing 20 ball fifty.
In reply, Kings XI started their chase poorly. Their run rate was well below the asking rate, and they were losing wickets at quick successions. Delhi pacers Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada made life difficult for the Punjab batting line up early on. It wasn’t all pace, as DC’s lead spinner Ravi Ashwin picked the two wickets of Karun Nair and Nicholas Pooran in his very first over. Ashwin would then go on to discolate his shoulder in an attempt to stop a single. This will be a major concern for Delhi going forward.
Even with a bowler short, DC didn’t look like they were struggling at any point. The score read 55-5 after 10 overs, and it looked like it was too steep a mountain to climb for the Punjab boys. The only hurdle for Delhi was that opener Mayank Agarwal was still at the crease, fighting his way through the innings.
Mayank Agarwal looked ominous as he was the lone anchor in the KXIP side.
Things changed from there on as Agarwal shifted gears and upped the ante against the Delhi bowlers. His Karnataka teammate Krishnappa Gowtham chipped in with a few blows as well. Courtesy a few big overs, Punjab now just needed 13 off the last over. With a bowler short, DC had no option but to go with Stoinis, and he was pounced on straightaway. The scorecard read 6-2-4 as 12 runs were conceded in the first 3 balls. 1 off 3, it looked as though Punjab had sealed this out of nowhere. But, a Wide Fulltoss pulled the tide back as Agarwal holed out on the deep cover fence. 1 from 1, Chris Jordan failed to score and chipped it straight to midwicket.
The scores were level. It was super over time. Punjab came out with KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran (which was a questionable decision), who could only manage 2 runs as they both lost their wickets. Delhi came out to bat and chased the total down with ease. Among all this, I truly felt for Mayank Agarwal – whose valiant knock of 89 wasn’t to be in a winning cause.
It was a night to remember, and this game showed why IPL is the biggest T20 tournament in the world. Players of the highest caliber produce games of the highest standards, even from pretty ordinary positions. With a plethora of matches to go, the fun of the IPL has just begun. A star studded RCB will take on SRH today and it will be a contest worth watching.
-Vibhor Dubey
The Average Cricketer 