The IPL 2020 clash between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab witnessed a thriller in Dubai. Marcus Stoinis had blasted a 20-ball fifty to help Delhi Capitals reach 157/8. In response, Mayank Agarwal played the knock of his life but he fell when one run was needed off one ball. Chris Jordan was unfortunately dismissed and the match headed into the Super Over. Kagiso Rabada dismissed both KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran as Kings XI Punjab were bowled for two runs, the lowest ever in the history of the IPL in the Super Over. Delhi Capitals won the match comfortably but once again, it summed up Rabada’s brilliance in the Super Over.
Rabada had bowled the Super Over in IPL 2019 as well when Delhi Capitals’ game against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley stadium was tied. Andre Russell’s brutal 65 off 28 balls had helped Kolkata Knight Riders reach 185/8 but Prithvi Shaw slammed 99 as the match was tied. In the Super Over, Delhi Capitals scored 10 runs. Rabada bowled the over and he was greeted with a boundary. However, he nailed three consecutive yorkers and managed to clean-up Russell as Delhi Capitals won by three runs.
Speaking after the end of the match in Dubai, Rabada was just happy that the plan worked out. “There will always be nerves no matter how long I play when things get tight. Lucky that it came off today. It just depends what's working for me on the day and some days you just get a feel for what might work and today I was mixing the lengths up and really glad it worked. Sometimes it works and sometimes it won't. Decent bounce on this wicket and the boundaries are quite big and I did back myself with extra pace and bounce,” Rabada said.
Stoinis brilliant
Marcus Stoinis had kept Delhi Capitals in the hunt first with his blazing 20-ball fifty. In the Kings XI Punjab innings, with Ravichandran Ashwin out injured, Stoinis had to fill in. After getting hit for a six and a boundary in the final over by Mayank Agarwal, including one dropped catch, Stoinis did not panic. He got Agarwal for 89 and Jordan the next ball to rescue Delhi Capitals for the second time. It is no wonder that the official Twitter handle of the Delhi Capitals has been changed to ‘Stoinis and KG fan account’.
Speaking after getting his Man of the Match award, Stoinis said it was a very weird game. “Sometimes the luck goes your way, but it's easy to become the villain from the hero. So it's important to enjoy the good days. I try to close down the areas where the bowlers can bowl, and it worked today. It's important to feed off everyone's energy. It's nice that the IPL has gotten going again, and tonight has been great entertainment. I thought KG bowled a beautiful over, and I don't have any qualms about not batting in the super over - I think the left-right batting combination was the right thing,” Stoinis said.
