The Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Sunday, 20 September, proved why T20 cricket is the most exciting format of the game. Just the second match of the season, and the tie between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab headed into a Super Over.
Bowling first in the Super Over, Delhi's South African pacer Kagiso Rabada kept his cool to snare two wickets and concede just a couple of runs to KL Rahul's team.
Chasing, Delhi easily hunted down the three-run target to start their campaign with a thrilling victory.
Earlier, KXIP opener Mayank Agarwal's heroics (89 off 60) went in vain, as his team failed to overhaul the 158-run target in 20 overs, and the contest entered the Super Over. Mayank's knock contained seven boundaries and four sixes.
In the post-match press conference Mayank said, “I thought 158 was a par score and going into the break, we knew that if we can stitch a partnership and not give them wickets, we could win the game.”
“Stoinis batted extremely well and even if we made a little mistake, he took us apart. So credit to him and he had a great game and he did well for them at the death.”Mayank Agarwal
“We batted well to reach there. I don’t know what to say”, Mayank added on their batting.
Also when asked about the pitch, Mayank said, “Well, it’s not the wicket where you can just go and start playing your strokes, you gotta give yourself some time get set and then look to take it on. It’s not an easy wicket to bat on with the new ball.
On the pitch, Delhi spinner Axar Patel said, “Actually we anticipated how the pitch is going to react as there was a bit of grass on it but we did not expect so much help for the swing bowlers. Our pacers also bowled well and that helped.”
On winning the game, Axar said, "You get positive vibes when you win a game. The way in which the match had become in our favour and then slipped from our hands, then our comeback into the match, and then gave only two runs in the Super Over, all this has pumped up and infused confidence into the team.
The form of Markus Stoinis was awesome in the game, he played a crucial knock in the game. Patel said, "The form of Marcus is very important for the team. If you want to go with 6 bowlers in the team, you need an all-rounder who can contribute in the game with either bowling or batting. If he is providing this contribution in the very first match, then, of course, this boosts the environment of the team. We can go in a certain direction where we will keep him on the 6th position. This is a great thing to have happened to us."
Talking about the cruciality of the partnership of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, he said, "We had not expected that we will be three wickets down in the powerplay. It happens sometimes when you are unable to read the pitch quickly and you lose your wicket quickly. But after that, the way Shreyas and Rishabh built a partnership and took the partnership to the 12th or 13th over. We got the momentum from there and after that, Stoinis solidified the momentum. We want that we continue with the same confidence in the next matches."
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)