Picture : Twitter / BCCI
Kings XI Punjab hung on and did not give up as they snatched victory from jaws of defeat against the Delhi Capitals in the encounter at Mohali.
Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field . With Chris Gayle not in the line- up the onus was on the other kings batsmen to rise to the occasion . K Rahul scored 15, Mayank Agarwal 6. Opener Sam Curran scored a quick- fire 20 off 10 balls
But the innings gained momentum thanks to David Miller who top scored with a quick-fire 43 from 30 balls, putting on 62 runs for the fourth wicket with Sarfaraz Khan (39 from 29 balls) . Mandeep Singh towards the end threw his bat around for quick runs. He remained unbeaten on 29 off 21 balls . The kings finished at 166/ 9 in their 20 overs.
For the Delhi Capitals, the bowling was sharp. Kagiso Rabada 2/ 32 ( 4 0vers) Chris Morris 3/ 30 ( 4 overs), Sandeep Lamichhane 2/ 27 ( 4 overs)
In reply The Delhi Capitals got a early jolt with Prithvi Shaw dismissed cheaply for 0 by Kings skipper Ravichandran Ashwin. Shikhar Dhawan (30 off 25 balls) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (28 off 22 balls) added 61 for the second wicket and the capitals looked to be coasting towards the target. A pumped up Hardus Viljoen bowled Shreyas Iyer to break the partnership. Dhawan was soon trapped leg before by Ravichandran Ashwin . The run- rate was under control and the target within reach.
The body language of Kings XI Players were down when Rishabh Pant and Colin Ingram were together at the crease. The match was slipping away from the Kings. Pant hit some trademark sixes over midwicket, scoring 39 off 26 balls, Ingram made a quick 38 off 29 balls . Their stand was worth 62 in 6.5 overs.
The moment Pant fell bowled by Shami with the total at 144 / 4 needing 23 off 21 balls , Delhi Capitals collapsed dramatically. They lost 7 wickets for 8 runs off 17 balls . The large crowd at Mohali which was quite all along when Pant and Ingram were on the crease suddenly lit up and roared as the hosts snatched a fantastic win.
England all- rounder Sam Curran bowled brilliantly to take a fine- hat- trick . His spell was outstanding 4/ 11 from stunning 2. 2 overs . It demolished the Capitals were bundled out for 152 in 19. 2 overs. Others Kings bowlers too did a well *Ravichandran Ashwin 2/ 31 ( 4 overs) , Mohammed Shami 2/ 27 ( 4 overs), Hardus Viljoen 1/ 22 ( 3 overs) .
The Kings XI Punjab’s unlikely win thrilled team co -owner Preity Zinta who was there at the stands cheering her side and even did bhangra with Sam Curran after the match.
