IPL 2018, DD vs KXIP: 5 talking points

Kings XI Punjab registered their fourth successive win of the tournament by defeating the Delhi Daredevils by 4 runs.

Chippings from Karun Nair, David Miller, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal took the 2014 runners-up to 143/8.

In reply, Prithvi Shaw gave DD a fine start by hitting four early boundaries in quick succession before being dismissed. The likes of Gautam Gambhir, Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant and Daniel Christian were all sent back for low scores and Delhi were in trouble.

Shreyas Iyer and Rahul Tewatia kept Delhi in the game but some sensible bowling from Punjab made sure that Delhi ended four runs short of the target.

The victory put KXIP back on top while DD remained rock-bottom. Let’s take a look at five talking points of the match.

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#5 Prithvi Shaw shows promise in his IPL debut

India’s U19 skipper Prithvi Shaw made his IPL and T20 debut today against the Kings XI Punjab. Shaw scored five runs from his first four deliveries during the first over of DD’s innings. In the second over, Shaw began by hitting two boundaries off Barinder Sran’s over.

Shaw hit a third boundary during the over and raced to 22 from 9 deliveries. In the third over, Shaw was to face the third delivery against Ankit Rajpoot. However, he was unable to read the line of Rajpoot’s delivery and in an attempt to play across the line, saw his stumps being shattered.

Shaw may have scored just 22 but the pace of the innings can tell that this will surely not be his last match of the tournament.

#4 Delhi’s batting faulters pretty bad

Gambhir was disappointing once again

Delhi bowled pretty well to limit KXIP to a score of 143 which was a below-par score at the Kotla. Delhi started well before Prithvi Shaw was bowled by Ankit Rajpoot. Glenn Maxwell was looking good as he hit a four and a six. However, he was soon sent back by Ankit Rajpoot thanks to a catch by Andrew Tye.

Skipper Gautam Gambhir’s poor form continued as he scored just 4 from 13 balls. The likes of Rishabh Pant and Daniel Christian were also dismal with the bat as they scored 4 and 6 respectively. Barring two players who we will be coming across later in this slider, the Daredevils batsmen were extremely disappointing today.

#3 Iyer and Tewatia put up a strong fight

Iyer scored a fighting 57

Following the run out of Daniel Christian, Delhi Daredevils were in deep water up to their necks at 76/5. At this point, Shreyas Iyer was batting and Rahul Tewatia came in to join him. The duo kept Delhi’s hopes alive by playing sensibly and showing a bit of aggression.

The pair added 47 for the 6th wicket from 36 deliveries to keep DD in the game. Tewatia departed at the end of the 18th over after scoring 24 but Iyer was still there. The 23-year-old held his nerve during the final over and brought up his fifty with a six.

He kept Delhi in the match by scoring a boundary in the penultimate delivery. However, he perished in the final ball in an attempt to hit a six. Iyer scored 57 from 45 deliveries.

#2 Liam Plunkett’s fabulous start to the IPL

Plunkett bowled a brilliant spell of 3/17 on his IPL debut

The Daredevils did not play Mohammed Shami today and instead opted for the experienced Liam Plunkett. Plunkett lived up to the trust placed in him by Gautam Gambhir by dismissing the dangerous KL Rahul in the fifth over.

He then bowled Mayank Agarwal with a quick good length delivery which shattered his off stump. Plunkett then took his third wicket of the match by getting the crucial wicket of Karun Nair who hit a slow delivery towards long-on where Shreyas Iyer took the catch. Plunkett ended his spell with 3/17 from his four overs.

Plunkett’s spell is sufficient to prove that he will be a regular in DD’s scheme of things as they look to stand a chance of making the playoffs.

#1 Brilliant bowling from Kings XI Punjab does the trick

Rajpoot bowled an economical spell of 2/23

The KXIP batting could not live up to expectations as they added only 143 on the board. However, Punjab’s bowlers were simply outstanding.

The pick of them was Ankit Rajpoot who picked up two wickets for 23 runs in his four overs. Both of Rajpoot’s scalps were huge ones- Prithvi Shaw and Glenn Maxwell. He was deservingly adjudged the Man of the Match.

Barinder Sran was extremely expensive in his first three overs as he conceded 41 runs from them. However, he compensated for that by conceding just four runs in his final over which was also the all-important penultimate over of the match. Sran also took the wicket of Liam Plunkett in that over.

Andrew Tye was also brilliant with the ball as he took 2/25 from his four overs. Tye got rid of DD captain Gautam Gambhir before getting the crucial wicket of Rahul Tewatia in his final over.

Skipper Ravichandran Ashwin did not pick up a single wicket but he was the cheapest among the Punjab bowlers as he gave away just 19 runs from his four overs.

The 17-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman was brilliant too. He gave away just 13 runs in his first three overs and dismissed Rishabh Pant. He was given the responsibility of bowling the final over. Mujeeb conceded 12 runs in 5 deliveries but dismissed Shreyas Iyer in the final delivery to end his spell at 2/25.

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