5 memorable moments from the Delhi Daredevils-Kings XI Punjab match that don't fade away

Another one sided game concluded as Delhi Daredevils thumped Kings XI Punjab off the park at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Both teams lost their first game and were seeking a win to get their campaign started.

In the end, Delhi Daredevils prevailed as the winners as they absolutely desecrated Preity Zinta’s team.

In what was a one-side affair, the Delhi bowlers did a terrific job to restrict a strong Punjab line up to a meagre 111. In reply, a De Kock inspired team easily chased down the total and did the net-run-rate a world of good with the margin of win.

The match had plenty of moments that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Here are 5 of the best:

Captain’s spell

When Zaheer Khan was named as the captain of Delhi Daredevils, it surprised quite a few people. Now, ‘Zak’ is perhaps India's greatest pacer of the 21st century, but captaincy is not something many would see him excel at.

There are still 12 more games to go before we can give a verdict on how Zaheer Khan was as a captain, but if we look no further than today’s game, then he is one heck of a leader.

One of the reasons why Punjab couldn’t muster up a respectable score was Zaheer Khan’s economical spell. In the four overs that he bowled, he took a wicket while giving only 14 runs. The wickets column might not have a big number, but the batsmen found it incredibly hard to score runs off his bowling.

Which, in turn, made them fall to…

Mishra’s fury

He might be someone who is not consistently picked by the selectors to represent India on an international level, but he is a regular fixture in the IPL—and has been so since its inception.

It was in the IPL where he made a name for himself. And it is in this tournament that he continues to impress with superb displays of leg-spin bowling. He made his 100th IPL game a memorable one by picking up 4 wickets while giving away just 11 runs. And all this in the space of just 18 balls.

He took full advantage of the pressure that Zaheer Khan built on the Punjab batsmen and halted them at 111 runs. At one point, it seemed like they wouldn’t be able to put up even 100 runs on board, but they managed to do so thanks to…

Punjab’s tailend resistance

When your top order fails you, you rely on your middle order to do well. However, when even your middle order fails you, you are set to be doomed.

Punjab got doomed, no question about that. However, the fight their tailend showed was admirable as Pradeep Sahu and Mohit Sharma played valuable knocks to get them over the three-figure mark.

Mohit Sharma scored 15 off 8 balls whereas Sahu’s bat produced 18 off just 12 balls. These knocks might not have been enough to get them a winning total, but it saved them from sheer embarrassment.

Quinton de Kock’s start

The South African is a huge talent and he shows it in almost every game. As Delhi went out to chase a small total, he didn’t just sit back and play cautiously to take them slowly towards victory.

Instead, he went all-guns blazing and played a fantastic unbeaten innings of 59 off just 42 balls. He made sure he left the pitch with the win in the bag and was the mastermind behind Delhi’s 8 wicket win with 6.3 overs remaining.

Records

This game has been one for the record-lovers. Obviously, when a win as dominating as this is in question, there has to be some kind of records.

The first one is something KXIP would have liked to avoid. This was the second lowest score in the history of IPL for a team completing 20 overs while batting first at the Kotla. The first was by the home team when they could muster up only 110 runs after their quota of overs against Chennai Super Kings in 2012.

The second is something that will make Delhi Daredevils fans happy. The margin of win, in terms of the number of balls remaining (39), is their third highest in IPL.