| 0.0 : Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, for the second match of the evening and it's happening at the Feroz Shah Kotla between Delhi and their northern neighbours, Punjab. Both teams have contrasting fortunes heading into this game. The hosts got their winning run broken in the last match while Punjab managed to bounce back after losing two on the bounce. It's all about getting their act together as the battle in the points table is only going to get intense from hereon. Let's hope for a cracking on |
| Toss - Shreyas Iyer wins the coin-toss and DELHI WILL FIELD! |
| Delhi skipper, Shreyas Iyer says that they will bowl first due to the dew factor and the pitch is also on the drier side. Adds that the last result also has to do with this decision and they want to rectify those mistakes. Feels it will be really good to chase. Wants to be positive and play fearless cricket. Informs about the three changes for Delhi - Colin Ingram, Sandeep Lamichhane and Sherfane Rutherford are playing in place of Colin Munro, Chris Morris and Keemo Paul. |
| Punjab skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin says that he would have fielded first as well but he won't mind batting first either. He is happy that he doesn't have to make the decision here at the toss. Regarding the team changes, Ashwin informs that Harpreet Brar is playing who offers good bowling and batting options while Sam Curran is back as well along with Hardus Viljoen. Tells that the reasons for the changes are that they want to have extra bowling option with the dew around. |
| Delhi (Playing XI) - Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(C), Rishabh Pant(WK), Colin Ingram (In for Colin Munro), Sherfane Rutherford (In for Chris Morris), Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane (In for Keemo Paul), Ishant Sharma. |
| Punjab (Playing XI) - Lokesh Rahul(WK), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin(C), Sam Curran (In for Nicholas Pooran), Harpreet Brar (In for Arshdeep Singh), Murugan Ashwin, Hardus Viljoen (In for Mujeeb Ur Rahman), Mohammed Shami. |
| We are all set to begin. Out come Chris Gayle and KL Rahul for Punjab. Ishant Sharma will start the proceedings for Delhi. |
| 0.1 : I Sharma to L Rahul, Starts the spell with a full ball angling into the batsman around off, Rahul steps forward and across before flicking it wide of mid on for a run. Punjab are underway! |
| 0.2 : I Sharma to C Gayle, Nice line. A length ball on middle and leg, angling across from there, Gayle brings his bat down in time to push it in the direction of mid off for one. He also gets off the mark first ball like his partner. |
| 0.3 : I Sharma to L Rahul, On a length and around off, Rahul covers the angle and defends it to the off side. |
| 0.4 : I Sharma to L Rahul, Gets behind the line of the delivery and forces it towards mid off. |
| 0.5 : I Sharma to L Rahul, A little bit of miscommunication but no harm done. Length ball on off, Rahul walks forward and across to work it in front of square leg. He steps out for a run, Gayle also responds, both are ball-watching and eventually they decide to abort the plan as Dhawan releases his throw at the striker's end. |
| 0.6 : I Sharma to L Rahul, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. 3 from Ishant's first over. |
| Who will bowl from the other end? It's Sandeep Lamichhane to bowl his leggies. A slip in place. |
| 1.1 : S Lamichhane to L Rahul, SIX! High and long! A flighted delivery, landing very full in the line of the stumps, Rahul moves back to make room and hoists it over long off for a biggie. A nice welcome to the young man from Nepal by KL! |
| 1.2 : S Lamichhane to L Rahul, Tossed up ball on off, Rahul defends it by getting on the front foot. |
| 1.3 : S Lamichhane to L Rahul, FOUR! Well played! A googly around off, turning back in, Rahul goes down and across before sweeping it behind square leg for a boundary. |
| Out? Not out? Draw the line. Where is Rahul's foot? Has he been stumped? Rishabh Pant seems very confident. |
| 1.4 : S Lamichhane to L Rahul, OUT! Rahul's back leg is on the line, nothing behind and he has to walk back. This is a body blow to Punjab as they lose an in-form batsman. The boy from Nepal now responds to KL's welcome in the best possible manner. Beauty of a delivery, this. Nice drift on this leg spinner. It lands around off and Rahul stretches forward to defend it. But the ball spins away to beat the outside edge and Pant breaks the stumps in a flash. They appeal and the square leg umpire take |
| Mayank Agarwal walks in at number 3, replacing Rahul. |
| 1.5 : S Lamichhane to M Agarwal, Beaten! Big spin away from the new batsman. Agarwal gets forward and tries to push it through the line but is beaten due to the away spin. |
| 1.6 : S Lamichhane to M Agarwal, Fine delivery this time. A googly on off, turning in. Agarwal picks it late and works it on the leg side for one. So, the first three balls were against Lamichhane but then he bounces back in the next three. Eventful over. |
| 2.1 : I Sharma to M Agarwal, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 2.2 : I Sharma to M Agarwal, Width on offer outside off, Mayank reaches out for it and guides it down to third man for one. |
| 2.3 : I Sharma to C Gayle, On a length and around off, Gayle punches it from the crease but finds mid off. |
| 2.4 : I Sharma to C Gayle, FOUR! Cheeky! Ishant angles across a length delivery outside off, slower in pace, Gayle waits for it quietly on the back foot and then at the very last moment, he opens the face of his bat and runs it down past the diving short third man fielder. |
| 2.5 : I Sharma to C Gayle, SIX! Into the night sky! The monster has decided to get going now. A knuckle delivery by Ishant but the line and length is not quite there. It's around off and Gayle opens his arms to dismiss it over long on for a maximum. 101m on the radar! |
| 2.6 : I Sharma to C Gayle, Lands it on a length and on the pads, Gayle pushes it off his pads towards mid on. Seeing that Amit Mishra is very lazy in going after the ball, Sharma himself sets off. The batsmen still take a run. 12 from the over, 23 in the last two. Punjab pressing forward now. |
| 3.1 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, FOUR! Wrong line from Sandeep and Gayle has not spared him. Short and down the leg side, further spinning down, Gayle turns inside the crease and pulls it behind square leg for a boundary. |
| 3.2 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, A flatter googly on middle, Gayle lunges and defends it back. |
| 3.3 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, FOUR! Drilled down the ground! Too full in length and on middle, Gayle clears his front leg and bludgeons it back past the bowler. Probably it brushed Lamichhane's hands but it's travelling and there is no way he will catch those. Will still go down as a dropped catch though. |
| 3.4 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, Stays on the back foot and punches the googly to covers. |
| 3.5 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, FOUR! Lamichhane is definitely feeling the pressure. Lets out a fuller length ball down the leg side, Gayle whips it across the line and sends it to the fine leg fence in no time. |
| 3.6 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, FOUR! 16 from the over and Gayle is roaring now. A googly on the shorter side outside off, Chris camps back and muscles his punch shot through cover-point. |
| Kagiso Rabada to bowl now. |
| 4.1 : K Rabada to M Agarwal, Starts with a length ball on off, Agarwal covers the angle and defends it to the off side. |
| 4.2 : K Rabada to M Agarwal, Play and a miss! Not a good shot selection from Agarwal. Rabada is not a club level bowler. A pacey delivery, on a back of a length around off, Agarwal steps back to smash it over the bowler's head but misses. |
| 4.3 : K Rabada to M Agarwal, Play normal cricket, Mayank. Rabada clocks 147.8 kph this time. On a good length and it's skidding off the surface, Agarwal tries to play late but misses. Offering a straight bat is a better option against this bowler. |
| 4.4 : K Rabada to M Agarwal, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. No run. |
| 4.5 : K Rabada to M Agarwal, OUT! Four dot balls and Mayank succumbs under pressure. Very ordinary from the young man. He looked quite restless during his short stay. Sometimes you need to respect the rhythm of the bowler, if not the bowler. Sharp delivery, it's banged into the batsman, Agarwal stays back to play the pull shot but is hurried on by the pace. Ends up towering it in the air off the top edge and Sherfane Rutherford runs forward and across from cover-point to complete the catch. Two e |
| David Miller time. |
| 4.6 : K Rabada to D Miller, LUCKY FOUR! Full and speared into the batsman at 151 kph, Miller brings his bat down to keep it out but it takes the inside edge and runs wide of short fine leg for a boundary. Spoils a wicket maiden for Kagiso. Still, a very impressive over by the South African. |
| Change of ends for Ishant. 2-0-15-0 so far. |
| 5.1 : I Sharma to C Gayle, Fuller delivery by Ishant Sharma. Gayle plays it towards the point region. |
| 5.2 : I Sharma to C Gayle, Full on middle and leg, Gayle blocks it. |
| 5.3 : I Sharma to C Gayle, A length delivery on off angling away for Gayle. Chris Gayle lets it go. |
| 5.4 : I Sharma to C Gayle, FOUR! The Gateway of India at the Kotla. Prithvi Shaw the culprit. Outside off, on a length, Gayle punches this through cover and point. Shaw dives to his right but is late and the ball sneaks through. |
| 5.5 : I Sharma to C Gayle, Ishant makes a comeback with a short delivery on middle and leg. Gayle pulls it to mid-wicket. |
| 5.6 : I Sharma to C Gayle, A back of a length delivery on middle, CG plays it to covers. End of the Powerplay, Punjab have raced to 50 but Delhi have also picked up 2 wickets. |
| STRATEGIC BREAK. It's been an explosive beginning from Chris Gayle but in the process, he has lost two partners as well. Delhi will be satisfied with the way things have progressed so far but with Gayle in the middle, they just cannot afford to relax. Let's wait and watch how the next half pans out. |
| 6.1 : A Mishra to D Miller, Mishra starts with a back of a length delivery on off, Miller punches it to mid off for a single. |
| 6.2 : A Mishra to C Gayle, Full on leg, Gayle flicks it to square leg. Single taken |
| 6.3 : A Mishra to D Miller, A back of a length on off, Miller on his back foot plays it to mid off for a single. |
| 6.4 : A Mishra to C Gayle, A floated delivery on leg, Gayle flicks it upplishly towards the mid-wicket region for a run. |
| 6.5 : A Mishra to D Miller, Fuller delivery by Mishra this time, Miller flicks it to wide mid on for a run. |
| 6.6 : A Mishra to C Gayle, SIX! HUMONGOUS! Gayle ends the over in style. Short and outside off, the Universe Boss rocks back and pulls it miles over long on! |
| Axar Patel introduced. |
| 7.1 : A Patel to D Miller, OUT! A wicket out of nowhere. Miller holes out. Tossed up, outside off, Miller comes down the track and looks to go over the top. Rather, he just tries to chip it over the infield. But the ball takes the toe end of the bat and goes only as far as deep mid-wicket. Prithvi Shaw is stationed at the ropes and takes it comfortably. Probably, a shot which could have been avoided. A wicket on the very first ball for Axar. |
| 0.0 : Mandeep Singh walks in. |
| 7.2 : A Patel to C Gayle, Full on leg, Gayle taps it with ease to the leg side. Single taken. |
| 7.3 : A Patel to M Singh, Length delivery on off, Mandeep gets down on one knee and paddles it towards the fine leg for a run. |
| 7.4 : A Patel to C Gayle, Short by Axar, Gayle punches it to mid off for a run. |
| 7.5 : A Patel to M Singh, Outside off, punched down to long on for a single. |
| 7.6 : A Patel to C Gayle, Outside off, pushed towards long off for one. |
| 8.1 : A Mishra to C Gayle, SIX! Into orbit! That has slipped out of the hands, one would imagine. A full toss, around off, Gayle just clobbers it miles over mid-wicket! |
| 8.2 : A Mishra to C Gayle, Full on leg, Gayle sweeps it to square leg for a run. The entire Kotla stands up and applauds. Yet another half century for the Universe Boss. Can he double the same? |
| 8.3 : A Mishra to M Singh, A short delivery on off, Mandeep punches this on his back foot to covers for a run. |
| 8.4 : A Mishra to C Gayle, SIX! PLUNDERED! Bad bowling. Has dew come into play already? A short ball outside off, Gayle goes back and pulls it with aplomb over mid-wicket! |
| 8.5 : A Mishra to C Gayle, Mishra fires this one on middle and leg, Gayle plays it to mid off and runs for a run. Iyer at the position quickly gathers the ball and has a shy at the stumps at the non-striker's end but misses. If Iyer would have hit, it would have been curtains for Gayle. |
| 8.6 : A Mishra to M Singh, Short delivery on leg, Mandeep pulls it to mid-wicket for a run. 16 runs from the over. |
| 9.1 : A Patel to M Singh, SIX! Third big hit in the span of 7 balls. This is a lovely shot. Floated outside off, Mandeep reaches out and then goes inside out. The ball lands beyond the extra cover boundary! |
| 9.2 : A Patel to M Singh, Outside off, pushed straight to point. |
| 9.3 : A Patel to M Singh, Around off, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 9.4 : A Patel to M Singh, Gets down and cheekily paddles this fine. Hustles back for the second and pushes Gayle for the same. The keeper collects the ball and has a shy at the bowler's end and hits the stumps direct. But Gayle is well in. |
| 9.5 : A Patel to M Singh, Outside off, pushed down to long on for one more. |
| 9.6 : A Patel to C Gayle, Around off, worked through square leg for another single. 10 from the over, 26 from the last 2. 92/3 at the halfway stage, are we eyeing 200? |
| Sherfane Rutherford comes on to bowl now. |
| 10.1 : S Rutherford to C Gayle, Rutherford starts with a back of a length delivery, Gayle punches it to covers. |
| 10.2 : S Rutherford to C Gayle, A back of a length delivery outside off, Gayle guides it towards the third man region. Single taken. |
| 10.3 : S Rutherford to M Singh, Full on leg, Mandeep works it down to square leg for a single. |
| 10.4 : S Rutherford to C Gayle, A back of a length on off, Gayle waits for it on his back foot and guides it towards third man for a single. |
| 10.5 : S Rutherford to M Singh, A short of a good length delivery, Mandeep dances down the track and pulls it back past the bowler for a run towards the mid on region. |
| 10.6 : S Rutherford to C Gayle, A short delivery, Gayle gets on his back foot and pulls it to mid-wicket for a single. 5 runs from the over. |
| Michael Slater is having a chat with Delhi's scouting head, Pravin Amre. Amre says that this is the way the Kotla wicket played last season as well. Adds that some days, dew sets in and on those days, the pitch gets better to bat on. Cites tonight's example, saying that it does not look like it is a turning wicket. Hopes to get Chris Gayle out quickly and then bounce back into the game. Reckons that the batting unit should not plan for too much as plenty of runs can be scored in the last few ove |
| Kagiso Rabada is back on. 1-0-4-1 so far. |
| 11.1 : K Rabada to C Gayle, Rabada fires this on off, Gayle plays it to point. |
| 11.2 : K Rabada to C Gayle, A back of a length delivery on off, Gayle pushes it towards the cover region for an easy single. |
| 11.3 : K Rabada to M Singh, A short delivery by Rabada on off, Mandeep guides it to point. |
| 11.4 : K Rabada to M Singh, A back of a length delivery, Mandeep waits for it and guides it towards the third man region for a single. |
| 11.5 : K Rabada to C Gayle, Full on leg, Gayle flicks it towards the mid-wicket region for a run. 100 up for Punjab. |
| 11.6 : K Rabada to M Singh, A short delivery outside off, Mandeep looks for a pull but gets a bottom edge onto the ground towards the wicket keeper. |
| Sandeep Lamichhane is on. 2-0-27-1 so far. |
| 12.1 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, SIX! POUNDED! Lamichhane is on and Lamichhane is gone. Full and outside off, a bit of flight, Gayle gets down on a knee and slogs it miles over mid-wicket! |
| 0.0 : Is that a legal catch? Gayle is walking, rather trudging. The umpires still want to check though. The soft signal is OUT. |
| 12.2 : S Lamichhane to C Gayle, OUT! That is a terrific display of team effort! Lamichhane was gone on the previous ball but Gayle is gone on this one. Sensational from Ingram. The newly become father has done something really special. Full and outside off, Gayle gets down and looks to play another slog sweep. This is not cleanly connected though. The ball goes towards deep mid-wicket where Colin Ingram steadies himself under the catch. However, there is more to come. The South African, who recen |
| Sam Curran walks in at number 6, replacing Gayle. There is not much depth in batting. |
| 12.3 : S Lamichhane to Sam Curran, Lamichhane fires this one on leg, Curran defends it. |
| 12.4 : S Lamichhane to Sam Curran, A flighted delivery on off, Sam blocks it. |
| 12.5 : S Lamichhane to Sam Curran, A tossed up delivery on off, Curran plays it towards the cover region. |
| 12.6 : S Lamichhane to Sam Curran, OUT! Two wickets in the over and Delhi have made a fantastic comeback now. Lamichhane is converting his miserable evening into a superb one. A googly outside off, holding up a bit onto the batsman, Curran is very early into his shot and pushes it back aerially to the bowler. Sandeep makes no mistake and now Punjab are in real trouble. |
| STRATEGIC BREAK. Interesting. Has that 2-wicket over turned the tide? Punjab were cruising towards 200 but now, even 170 looks difficult from here on. Because of the lack of batsmen. Skipper Ravichandran Ashwin has walked out to the middle. Meanwhile, Amit Mishra is back on. 2-0-27-0 so far. |
| 13.1 : A Mishra to M Singh, Shortish and on middle, Mandeep goes back and punches it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 13.2 : A Mishra to R Ashwin, A leg spinner on the shorter side, around off, Ashwin pushes it out from the crease to point. |
| 13.3 : A Mishra to R Ashwin, Flatter and quicker, on the pads, Ashwin helps it off his pads towards mid-wicket and Mishra himself runs after the ball. They take a single. |
| 13.4 : A Mishra to M Singh, Flatter leg spinner landing on leg and turning away, Mandeep sticks back and defends it at the last moment. |
| 13.5 : A Mishra to M Singh, A better throw from the deep would have made things interesting. A long hop on middle, Singh pulls it down to deep mid-wicket where Rabada makes a tumbling stop. He fires his throw to the keeper but it's quite wide and Mandeep completes the second run safely. |
| 13.6 : A Mishra to M Singh, Loopy and full on middle, it's quietly worked through mid-wicket for a run. 5 from the over, 19/2 in the last four overs. Good going from Delhi. |
| 14.1 : S Lamichhane to M Singh, Flighted ball on middle, worked in the gap on the leg side for one. |
| 14.2 : S Lamichhane to R Ashwin, FOUR! That's not the length to bowl on his surface. It's on the shorter side and skidding off the surface too, Ashwin hangs on the back foot and smacks it over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 14.3 : S Lamichhane to R Ashwin, A googly on the flatter side, around off and turning in, Ashwin defends it from the crease. |
| 14.4 : S Lamichhane to R Ashwin, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 14.5 : S Lamichhane to M Singh, Leans forward to a full ball and jams it down with a straight bat. |
| 14.6 : S Lamichhane to M Singh, DROPPED BY RABADA? Lamichhane delivers it short and around leg, Mandeep goes deep inside the crease and pulls it behind square leg. Rabada in the deep initially looks to go back but then dives forward to attempt for the catch. It appears that he has spilled it. Yes, the replays confirm that. So, a life for Mandeep Singh. A single taken. |
| 15.1 : A Mishra to M Singh, FOUR! Bad bowling. 'What is this?' asks an angry Kevin Pietersen on air. Short and too much width on offer outside off. Mandeep hangs back, then reaches out and slaps it over cover for a boundary! |
| 15.2 : A Mishra to M Singh, A flighted delivery on off, Mandeep drives it to long off for a single. |
| 15.3 : A Mishra to R Ashwin, A short delivery on off, Ashwin rocks back and hits it to mid on. Single taken. |
| 15.4 : A Mishra to M Singh, A nicely tossed up delivery on off, Mandeep comes down the track and flicks it to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 15.5 : A Mishra to R Ashwin, A flighted delivery on off, Ashwin drives it towards the long off region. Single taken. |
| 15.6 : A Mishra to M Singh, A flatter delivery on leg, Mandeep flicks it to mid-wicket for a single. |
| Axar Patel is back. 2-0-15-1 so far. |
| 16.1 : A Patel to M Singh, Axar bowls this flat on off, Mandeep pushes it to covers for a single. |
| 16.2 : A Patel to R Ashwin, Back of a length on off, Ashwin punches it to the covers region for single. |
| 16.3 : A Patel to M Singh, OUT! Stumped by a mile. Smart bowling from Axar. Mandeep telegraphed a month in advance that he is going to come down the track. Patel received that telegraph but treated it like a telegram. Fired it outside off and a bit wider as well. Singh swings wildly but misses. Rishabh Pant behind makes no mistake. So the last recognized batsman also departs. Can Punjab get to at least 160 from here? |
| Harpreet Brar, the debutant, walks out to the middle. |
| 16.4 : A Patel to H Brar, A back of length delivery on leg, Brar looks for a flick but fails to connect. The ball hits him on his pads. A little shout from the bowler. Umpire shakes his head. Probably pitched outside leg. |
| 16.5 : A Patel to H Brar, FOUR! Not a bad way to get yourself going in your first game. Short and outside off, Harpreet rocks back and punches it through the covers to get his first runs in T20 itself, leave alone Indian T20 League. |
| 16.6 : A Patel to H Brar, A back of a length ball on leg, Brar flicks it towards the mid-wicket region for a single. 7 runs and a wicket from the over, Axar's figures read 3-0-22-2. Will he bowl out in the 19th? |
| Kagiso Rabada returns. 2-0-7-1 so far. |
| 17.1 : K Rabada to H Brar, A super delivery. Rabada from round the wicket fires this one on off which angles in for Brar. Harpreet was looking for a drive but gets beaten. |
| 17.2 : K Rabada to H Brar, A back of a length delivery on off, Brar guides it towards the point region for a single. |
| 17.3 : K Rabada to R Ashwin, Rabada bowls this on short of a length on off, Ashwin guides it to third man. Single taken. |
| 17.4 : K Rabada to H Brar, A back of a length this time from Rabada on off, Brar drives it from his back foot to mid off for a single. |
| 17.5 : K Rabada to R Ashwin, FOUR! Not a bad shot at all from the skipper. Short and outside off, Ashwin backs away and swats a pull wide of mid on for a boundary! |
| 17.6 : K Rabada to R Ashwin, A short delivery on middle and leg, Ashwin looks to upper cut it towards third man but fails to make any connection. |
| Surprising. Ishant Sharma is bowling the 19th over. 3-0-19-0 so far. Those are not poor figures but given that Axar has picked up 2 wickets, one guessed the left-arm spinner could have been given the nod. |
| 18.1 : I Sharma to H Brar, Ishant bowls this outside off. Brar looks to heave it above bowler's head, but is beaten due to lack of pace. |
| 18.2 : I Sharma to H Brar, Wide! Ishant tries to keep it away from Brar, tries too much. Wided. |
| I Sharma to H Brar, Wide! Another wide by Ishant. Full outside off, this one goes past the guidelines again. Wide given. |
| I Sharma to H Brar, FOUR! PUMMELED! This kid can bat. Short and wide outside off, Harpreet crashes it through the covers and beats the sweeper in the deep. |
| 18.3 : I Sharma to H Brar, Too full length delivery on off almost a yorker, Brar squeezes to point for a single. |
| 18.4 : I Sharma to R Ashwin, A short delivery on off, Ashwin jumps to his off stump so that he can swing his arms. In the end pulls it towards the mid on region for a single. |
| 18.5 : I Sharma to H Brar, Fuller length by Ishant, Brar squeezes it towards the cover region for a single. |
| 18.6 : I Sharma to R Ashwin, Fuller length delivery on leg, following the batsman. Ashwin drives it to long on for a single. |
| 19.1 : K Rabada to R Ashwin, OUT! Rabada strikes on the first ball of the final over. Short and around off, cutting in, cramping the batsman for room, Ashwin, looking to back away and pull is cramped. He goes through with the shot but only manages to make feeble connection. The ball barely carries to his counterpart at long on but Shreyas Iyer charges in and dives forward to take a clean catch. For some reason, Ashwin stands his ground and waits for the confirmation that the catch is clean. Is no |
| Hardus Viljoen comes out at number 9, with 5 balls left. |
| 19.2 : K Rabada to H Brar, Short and around middle, Brar looks to pull but is done in by the bounce. Mistimes his shot wide of short mid-wicket and gets a single. |
| 19.3 : K Rabada to H Viljoen, TWO BYES. One off an overthrow. Schoolboy stuff from Rabada. First, a bouncer to his countryman. Viljoen ducks and then Brar calls Hardus for the bye. Pant under-arms the ball to Rabada who tries to back-flick the ball at the non-striker's end. But misses. The ball goes to long on and the second is taken. |
| 19.4 : K Rabada to H Viljoen, An all South African affair. Rabada digs it short and outside off, Viljoen swats it through mid-wicket. Colin Ingram races to his left from the ropes and dives full length to stop the boundary. Two runs taken. |
| 19.5 : K Rabada to H Viljoen, Another bye. Outside off, HV swings hard, to miss again. Another bye is stolen as another under-arm shy from Pant goes wide of the stumps. |
| 19.6 : K Rabada to H Brar, SIX! A biggie to finish the innings! Will this hurt Delhi later on? Short and outside off, Harpreet rocks back and pulls it with consummate ease over mid-wicket! Punjab finish on 163/7! |
| How to look at 163? Let us try two ways - A. You are just tuning in and seeing that on a dry turning wicket at the Kotla, Punjab have got 160. Match-winning. B. You have been following the game pretty well and seen that Punjab were 92/3 at the halfway mark. That means only 71 runs scored in the second half with 4 wickets lost. Match-turning. |
| As the previous text suggests, it was all about that innings at the top. From Christopher Henry Gayle. He was in his own league, as he dismissed every bowler that he faced, to the cleaners, while the others kept getting out to soft dismissals. But once he got out, the runs started to come in a trickle and save aside for a sensible 30 from Mandeep and an unbeaten 12-ball 20 from the debutant Harpreet Brar, there was nothing much to talk about Punjab's batting. |
| Disciplined bowling from Delhi, who read the pitch well. Amit Mishra got some tonking because of literally poor bowling but the others were excellent. Sandeep Lamichhane purchased 3 wickets for the cost of 40 runs and that was worth it. The acrobatic catch combination of Ingram and Axar to get rid of Gayle turned things in Punjab's favour and Lamichhane also dismissed Curran in the same over, turning up the heat. Here he is, talking to Michael Slater... |
| Sandeep Lamichhane says that it was really tough to bowl because of the dew. Adds that Gayle attacked them in the Powerplay but after 10-12 overs, Punjab bounced back. On his bowling plans against Gayle, Lamichhane mentions that he just wanted to give him singles and get him off strike. Also adds that he tried to make him slog across the line and get the top edge but admits that Gayle batted really well. He is confident that his batsmen will chase down this target as there is dew around and the |
| 164 to chase for Delhi to get back to winning ways. Looks easy but like Punjab, the batting is not too deep. Shaw and Dhawan have been inconsistent with only Iyer being somewhat consistent. Coin Ingram is back after a long break while Sherfane Rutherford is an unknown quantity. An exciting run chase beckons. Dew will play a pivotal role. |
Google +
Facebook
Twitter
Whatsapp