Australian Mitchell Marsh got another half-century for the Delhi Capitals while the likes of Liam Livingstone, Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada were all among the wickets for Punjab Kings. Thanks to Marsh’s 63 and cameos from Sarfaraz Khan and Lalit Yadav, Delhi posted 159/7.
Rahul Chahar meanwhile finished with figures of 0/19.
Batting first, Delhi Capitals lost David Warner off the first delivery of the game as Rahul Chahar took an easy catch off Liam Livingstone. With Warner gone for a golden duck, the in-form Mitchell Marsh and Sarfaraz Khan decided the best form of defense would be attack.
The duo bullied the Punjab bowling, scoring at good clip, powering it all around the ground. While Marsh used his long reach to good effect, Sarfaraz was getting the scoop over the keeper going. However, just before the powerplay ended, Arshdeep Singh packed off Sarfaraz for 32 off 16.
DC, with Lalit Yadav and Marsh in the middle, got to 59/2 at the end of the powerplay. A few quiet overs followed after that as the batters could not force the issue and Punjab had restricted the opposition to 86/2 at the midway stage.
Soon after, Delhi lost a couple of crucial wickets. Lalit Yadav added 24 for the cause in a 47-run stand with Marsh, dismissed by Arshdeep, after which Rishabh Pant, looking to accelerate, was stumped by Jitesh off Livingstone for 7.
5 runs later, Livingstone struck again, as Rovman Powell walked back to the hut for 2, caught at long off by Shikhar Dhawan. The Australian Marsh though was battling along at the other end, and got to a well deserved half-century in the 17th over.
Rishabh Pant stumped against Punjab
Image: BCCI
After that, Marsh looked to cut loose, and Arshdeep was first in his sights. The left-armer, who is normally brilliant in the slog overs, conceded 15 runs, including three boundaries, as DC got a move on.
Rabada then dismissed Marsh for 63, caught in the deep look to clear the ropes and Arshdeep finished off the innings with the wicket of Shardul Thakur, and a 7-run over, that helped DC to 159/7. Arshdeep and Livingstone finished with 3 wickets each as Axar Patel (17*) and Kuldeep Yadav were the unbeaten batters.
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