Chandigarh: Punjab Kings started off TATA IPL 2024 on a winning note as they edged Delhi Capitals by four wickets in Match 2 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.
In the first IPL match at the new venue, Sam Curran (63 off 47) and Liam Livingstone (38* off 21) played crucial knocks to help PBKS chase down 175 after a collective bowling effort had restricted DC to 174/9.
Chasing 175, PBKS got off to a brisk start but lost openers Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow inside the Powerplay. Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow added 34 from the first three overs. They were off the blocks in style hitting four fours in the first over from Khaleel Ahmed. Ishant Sharma then provided the breakthrough as he cleaned up Dhawan.
DC had another one in the over as Bairstow was run out at the non-striker's end after Sharma got finger-tips to a straight drive from Prabhsimran Singh and Bairstow was found short on the replay.
Impact Player Prabhsimran Singh cracked a couple of fours in the next over to take PBKS to 53/2. DC received a blow int he final over of the Powerplay as Ishant had to leave the field after injuring his leg while fielding a ball. DC kept things tight and that brought a wicket as Kuldeep Yadav had Prabhsimran Singh caught at long on. Yadav struck again in the next over as he had Jitesh Sharma stumped via quick hands from Rishabh Pant.
Kuldeep could have had another one in his final over but Stubbs dropped Curran at long on when on 34.With 63 needed off 36, Curran and Liam Livingstone upped the ante, smacking two fours and a six off Mitchell Marsh, taking 18 off the 15th over. Curran brought up his fifty off 39 balls. The pair hit the fifth gear and put PBKS in the driver's seat before Curran departed for 64(47) in the penultimate over, cleaned up by Khaleel. The left-arm pacer had two in two as he had Shashank Singh caught behind off a bouncer. Khaleel could have had a third in the over but Warner dropped Harpreet Brar at long on off the last ball of the over.
With 6 needed off 6, Sumit Kumar started off with a couple of wides. The third one was a dot but Livingstone finished it off in style with a huge six over deep mid-wicket to win it for the home side.Earlier, Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to field. It was a special moment for Rishabh Pant, who made his comeback to competitive cricket after suffering a life-threatening road mishap on December 30, 2022.
Delhi Capitals got off to an aggressive start but lost Mitchell Marsh early. Warner and Marsh hit three fours and three sixes via some powerful strokeplay in their 39-run stand before Arshdeep Singh dismissed Marsh after being hit for a six off the earlier ball in the fourth over.
Warner, though, continued to attack and brought up DC's fifty with a cracking four and a scintillating scooped six off Rabada in the next over. DC reached 54/1 at the end of the Powerplay. Warner and Shai Hope continued the momentum with a 35-run stand off 28 balls but against the run of play, Harshal Patel provided a vital breakthrough as he had David Warner caught behind off a bouncer via a successful review.
Rishabh Pant then arrived at a crease to a standing ovation and rapturous applause.
Hope kept the scoreboard ticking but just as another mini partnership was growing, Rabada came back to dismiss Hope (33 off 25) in the 11th over.
It sparked a collapse as, two overs later, Patel struck again to have Pant (18 off 13) caught at backward point. And in the next over, Harpreet Brar had Ricky Bhui caught behind off another terrific review. DC lost half their side in the 14th over. Tristan Stubbs too didn't last long as he was caught brilliantly at wide long off by Shashank Singh, off Rahul Chahar.
DC went from 94/2 to 128 for six in space of five overs. The wickets kept tumbling as Axar Patel, who looked confident at the crease with a 12-ball 20, was then run out in the 18th over.DC sent in Abishek Porel as their Impact Player, replacing Ricky Bhui, and he provided a crucial late burst, with a scintillating 10-ball 32* to help DC post 174/9. Porel smashed 4,6,4,4,6 to score 25 runs in the final over.PBKS introduced Prabhsimran Singh as their Impact Player in the last over of the first innings.
