IPL 2018: DD vs KXIP, 3 master strokes of the game

The 2nd match of the Indian Premier League saw Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab battle it out at the IS Bindra stadium in Mohali. Kings XI Punjab won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Delhi had a scratchy start as they lost both Colin Munro and Shreyas Iyer in the powerplay itself. Gambhir steadied the Delhi innings and Pant provided it a bit of impetus. Delhi ended with 166 for 7 at the end of their 20 overs with Chris Morris providing the finishing touches.

Punjab’s inning started with a bang as KL Rahul went berserk and hit the fastest IPL half-century. Yuvraj Singh struggled to get going in the middle but with Karun Nair’s brilliant half-century and some sensible batting from David Miller Punjab chased down the target.

So let us have a look at 3 strategic moves in the match that eventually turned out to be masterstrokes.

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#3 Choking Yuvraj Singh with pace and then attacking him with spin

Yuvraj Singh is no more the batsman that he used to be. His struggle in today’s match was a clear evidence of where his future lies. Credit must be given to Gautam Gambhir also; he kept his pacers on against Yuvraj Singh and the southpaw struggled to even rotate the strike.

Once Yuvraj had eaten up a lot of deliveries Gambhir brought on his leg-spinner. Yuvraj had no option but to take the spinner on and in doing so he perished. Gambhir’s strategy of containing Yuvraj Singh with pace and then attacking him with spin eventually turned out to be a masterstroke and the DD captain got the better of Yuvraj.

#2 Kings XI Punjab playing three frontline spinners

A bold move by KXIP

A T20 has never been a bowler’s game, especially for the spinners. Kings XI Punjab played a masterstroke when they decided to field three frontline spinners in Ravi Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. All three spinners were among the wicket-takers and they rattled Delhi’s batting line up. They bowled 11 overs between them and took four crucial wickets giving away 86 runs.

Considering it was an afternoon game and the ball would not be coming on the bat nicely, the strategy of taking the pace off the ball worked wonders for Punjab. They were spot on with their selection and reaped the deserved gifts for it.

#1 Playing Mujeeb Ur Rahman ahead of Chris Gayle in the playing XI

Ashwin showing confidence in the Afghani

Ravichandran Ashwin cleared his views on team selection as a captain when he decided to go with the mystery of Mujeeb Ur Rahman instead of the reputation of Chris Gayle. The selection of the youngster proved out to be a masterstroke as he removed the dangerous Colin Munro on the very third delivery of his IPL career.

The 17-year-old went only for 11 runs in the first two overs that he bowled in the powerplay. He came back in the 14th over of the innings to put an end to Pant’s assault. Mujeeb ended with dream figures of 4-0-28-2 on debut. He also affected the very important run out of Gautam Gambhir.