Pathan's 3 for 24 helps Punjab beat Delhi by seven wickets

Searing heat and a slow pitch are not factors that can ensure an engrossing T20 contest, but for the famished Kings XI Punjab, the low-scoring match was an opportunity not to be missed.

The experienced Sri Lankan pair of Mahela Jawayardene and Kumar Sangakkara chipped in with useful efforts as the visiting side scored a seven-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils for only their fourth win in 12 matches of the Indian Premier League. The Daredevils failed to increase their tally of wins from six, getting off to a rather sloppy start, and even factoring the conditions, a total of 111 was way below par.

Once the flamboyant batsmen succumbed early on, they never looked like inflating the total and it was only a matter of keeping the scoreboard ticking for the Punjab team.

“I don’t think the pitch was that bad today. It has been like this for the past six months and one can’t blame only the wicket for the low-scoring match today,” said Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir. When asked if given a choice which would be his preferred venue,
Gambhir said, “I would like to play all my matches away.”

The Delhi bowlers did try to slog it out, but the odd initiative for a boundary hit by the Sri Lankan duo as well as Yuvraj Singh, was enough to ensure that their necks were always ahead of the opposition. Jayawardene struck 38 off 35 balls with four fours and a six before an ungainly sweep shot saw him depart. But the former Sri Lankan captain had laid a foundation which was built on by left-handers Sangakkara (33) and Yuvraj (21 not out) as they won with eight balls to spare.

Earlier, there was no advantage batting first as the Daredevils struggled with the ball keeping a trifle low. They also lost their way due to some run-out dismissals. A highest individual score of 26, a maximum partnership of 35 and an innings sans a six was not the kind of effort that provided hope of consolidating their position amongst the leaders in the points table.

Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla shared five scalps to put the brakes on the home side at a venue where all but one previous match had seen the team batting first emerge victorious.
David Warner’s first-ball four off Ramesh Powar did not set the tone for the innings as one would have expected. Virender Sehwag pulled the first ball he faced straight to Reetinder Sodhi to give Pathan early success.

Gambhir produced a cameo of 26 off just 12 deliveries with five fours, but his run out, which was followed by another one of Warner, pulled the side down to 41 for three in the fifth over.
The three big-hitters were back in the pavilion and the batsmen to follow failed to get things back on track. Chawla struck twice and Dinesh Karthik became Pathan’s second victim, hitting straight to long on in what was the end of an unimpressive 35-ball 17.