Picture Courtesy : CricTracker.com
Kings XI Punjab began their season 11 of the IPL in style. They beat the Delhi Daredevils in a emphatic way at Mohali. Kings XI Punjab bowlers lived up to the faith on them by skipper Ravichandran Ashwin , who won the toss and put the DD side in to bat.
And the Kings XI spinners came to the party – 17 year -old Mujeeb ur Rahman from Afghanistan impressed all. Along with Axar Patel and Ashwin, they did not allow the DD batsmen the liberty to play shots. And restricted then to 166 after a cautious start.
For DD, skipper Gautam Gambhir, continued where he left of for KKR, once again anchoring the side with a well made 55 off 42 balls. But Gautam did not get the required support from others. Rishabh Pant promised much but fell for 28 off 13 balls.
Chasing 167 for win, Kings XI Punjab opener KL Rahul, simply took the game away from Delhi with a sensational knock. He played shots all round the wicket and scored the fastest fifty in IPL in only 14 balls. The previous was of 17 balls by Sunil Narine ( KKR) against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017.
After Rahul left , Karun Nair stepped up and played a fine innings of 52 off 32 balls. Then later on David Miller ( 24) and Marcus Stoinis ( 22) remained unbeaten to power the Kings to a six wicket win. A win that was cheered by the happy Kings XI co -owner Bollywood actress Preity Zinta.
DD bowlers felt the heat . Trent Boult, Chris Morris, Amit Mishra , Mohammad Shami just could not contain the run flow.
