Delhi Capitals defeated Punjab Kings by three wickets thanks to half-centuries from captain Axar Patel and David Miller in the Indian Premier League on Monday in Dharamshala, maintaining their faint chances of making the playoffs.
When PBKS was sent in to bat, Priyansh Arya (56 off 33) and Prabhsimran Singh (18) combined for 78 runs off 41 balls for the first wicket.
Following their dismissals, Cooper Connolly (38 off 27) and Shreyas Iyer (59 not out off 36 balls) took charge of advancing the innings as PBKS scored 210/5.
DC fell to 74/4 in response, but Axar (56) and Miller (51) revived the chase, and Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari finished with 216/7 in 19 overs.
Madhav (2/40) and Mitchell Starc (2/57) each claimed two wickets for DC. Marcus Stoinis (1/44), Ben Dwarshuis (1/51), and Arshdeep Singh (2/21) were among the wicket-takers for PBKS.
DC decided to field in the season’s opening game at the picturesque location after making five changes to their team as they struggled to stay alive in the tournament.
In Dharamsala’s high altitude, the ball usually jumps off the bat. Mitchell Starc, who proved to be fairly costly that evening, made this clear in the opening over of the match. In the over that went for 22 runs, Priyansh completely destroyed the seasoned Australian bowler. A six square of the wicket on each side was part of his assault.
In addition to smashing Starc for a first-ball six, the southpaw also gave the cunning Lungi Ngidi and Mukesh Kumar the same treatment.
Starc naturally went full in an attempt to get swing, but after giving up 51 runs in the first three overs, the DC pacers realized that bowling full was not the best option on this surface.
The key to DC’s comeback was Aquib Nabi, who made things difficult for Priyansh in the second half of the Powerplay by getting the ball to seam from length.
Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh’s opening partner, did not have much rhythm in his 15-ball 18 before Mukesh caught him at fine leg. In the ninth over, Madhav Tiwari caught Priyansh at deep point to take his first IPL wicket.
Although Punjab Kings were off to a fast start, they were only able to reach 107 for two in 10 overs by the halfway point. Cooper Connolly (38 off 27) and captain Shreyas Iyer (59 not out off 36) combined for 83 off 52 balls for the third wicket, but they were unable to shift gears as quickly as they would have preferred.
Before Suryansh Shedge blasted two spectacular sixes off the well-known speedster in the 19th over, Starc dismissed Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh off consecutive balls. In order to prevent Punjab Kings from going over 210, Ngidi bowled a masterful final over.
