Express News Service
CHENNAI: Even as late as 6.00 PM on Wednesday, there was no confirmation on whether the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals would go ahead in Mumbai. Delhi, battling a mini Covid-19 outbreak, had another player (Tim Seifert) who had returned a positive test hours before the game. While Punjab had already turned up to Brabourne and were going through their final warm-ups, their opponents were conspicuous by their absence. They finally left the hotel after all other players cleared another round of tests in the afternoon.
The actual match, though, suggested that Delhi, some of whose members were masked up in the dug-out, came into the match well prepared while Punjab had to deal with all the chaos. Rishabh Pant & Co. have been searching for consistency and can use this result as a launchpad to make a push for the top four in the second half of the season. For Punjab, who further shortened an already anaemic lower middle-order by bringing in Nathan Ellis in place of Odean Smith, there will be more questions about their approach with the bat. For starters, they would like to win a toss.
They once again lost the toss (sixth in seven games) and it was the start of a chastening three hours or so. Much of the credit for that should go to Pant who brought on the spinners early on a strip that had something in it for the slower bowlers. Both Lalit Yadav (Shikhar Dhawan) and Axar Patel (Liam Livingstone) picked up powerplay wickets and the team in pink never really recovered.
While Axar completed one of the most economical spells in this edition (4-0-10-2), Kuldeep Yadav continued his upward trajectory with another assured performance (4-0-24-2). There was purpose in his stride, he extracted spin off the surface, he had the look of a man who was enjoying his bowling. No wonder, then, that he’s the second leading wicket-taker with 13. In the end, the three spinners, put together, picked up 6/45 off 10 overs. Chasing 116, Delhi, powered by openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner who added 83 runs in just 6.3 overs, romped home with nine wickets and 9.3 overs to spare. With the win, Delhi leapfrogged Punjab.
Brief scores: Punjab 115 in 20 ovs (Jitesh 32, Axar 2/10) lost to Delhi Capitals 119/1 in 10.3 ovs (Shaw 41, Warner 60 n.o).
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