IPL 11 | Recap: DD Continue Woeful Run, Lose to KXIP by 4 Runs
Kings XI Punjab restricted Delhi to 139/8 to defend the lowest total in the IPL at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground.
Kings XI Punjab defeated Delhi Daredevils by four runs in a last-ball finish after they restricted them to 139/8 in match number 22 of the Indian Premier League on 23 April at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi.
Kings XI Punjab got off to a rough start, after Delhi Daredevils won the toss and put them to bat. Aaron Finch got out in the second over, falling to a ball from youngster Avesh khan.
The next to go was in-form Lokesh Rahul, who was caught by Avesh Khan off a ball from Liam Plunkett, who was making his IPL debut. Mayank Agarwal (21), who was Plunkett’s next victim, was clean bowled in the 8th over.
Kings XI Punjab were 61/3 in 8 overs. Karun Nair and Yuvraj Singh’s stitched a 25-run partnership, before Yuvraj was caught by Rishabh Pant off a ball from Avesh Khan.
Yuvraj's fall brought Karun Nair in the middle, who showed a little fight against the hosts and slammed 34 runs to take his team past the 100-run mark before falling in the 17th over to Plunkett.
Delhi's Daniel Christian also joined the party and dismissed David Miller (26) with Punjab's scorecard reading 127/6.
Meagre contributions by Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin (6 runs off 7 balls), Andrew Tye (3) and with the help of 14 extra runs, Punjab managed to put 143.
Delhi started their proceedings on a shaky note as pacer Ankit Rajpoot came with the first breakthrough for Punjab in the third over, dismissing opener Prithvi Shaw for 22 runs.
Incoming batter Glen Maxwell (12) and skipper Gautam Gambhir (4) once again struggled to gather runs as both were back in the dug-out in the fifth and sixth over respectively, leaving Delhi at 42/3.
Gambhir's dismissal brought Shreyas Iyer in the middle, who tried his best to change Delhi's fortune, but lacked partnership from the other end.
Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck in the ninth over to dismiss in-form Rishabh Pant (4) cheaply. All-rounder Daniel Christian (6) was the next to fall for Delhi. However, Iyer kept the scoreboard ticking.
With the match slipping from Delhi's hand as the host were reeling at 76/5, Iyer and Rahul Tewatia (24 off 21 balls) stiched a 47-run partnership for the sixth wicket, bringing back the host back in the contest.
As the low-scoring issue went into the final over with Delhi needing 17 runs, Iyer six off the first delivery gave Delhi a ray of hope. However, Iyer failed to give a finishing touch to his fighting knock as Delhi fell short of the 144-run target by four runs.
(With inputs from IANS)
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