New Delhi: There is something about home conditions that compels teams to bring out their best. It certainly did so for the Delhi Daredevils on Monday evening. Playing the seemingly unstoppable Kings XI Punjab in front of a noisy Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium packed to the rafters, the hosts produced a spirited performance before going down by three wickets.
Despite the explosive Glenn Maxwell and most of the top order having a rare off-day, Punjab rode on a superb fightback by Akshar Patel (42 not out) to shake off the initial problems and bring up their ninth consecutive victory.
Boasting of the most destructive batting line-up in the tournament, Punjab were expected to make easy meat of the 165-run target. It certainly seemed so in the initial overs. Punjab openers Manan Vohra (42) and Virender Sehwag (23) forced the home crowd into stunned silence but the introduction of Imran Tahir after the first time-out turned things around for the hosts. The spinner struck the first blow, getting rid of Vohra with his second delivery.
That brought the dangerous Maxwell to the crease. The Australian dynamo started in ominious fashion, swatting Tahir for a six. But the spinner had the last laugh. He got one through Maxwell’s defences.
Delhi Daredevils: M. Vijay c Hendricks b Sandeep 5, K. Pietersen b Patel 49, D. Karthik c Dhawan b Hendricks 69, J.P. Duminy c Maxwell b Hendricks 17, K. Jadhav c Maxwell b Sandeep 0, M. Agarwal b Sandeep 6, M. Tiwary (not out) 10, W. Parnell c Maxwell b Hendricks 2, M. Shami (not out) 1. Extras (lb1, w4) 5. Total (for seven wickets in 20 overs) 164.
FoW: 1-13, 2-84, 3-140, 4-144, 5-151, 6-155, 7-158.
Bowling: Sandeep 4-0-35-3, Hendricks 4-0-36-3, Patel 4-1-18-1, Dhawan 4-0-42-0, Shivam 4-0-32-0.
Kings XI Punjab: V. Sehwag c Tiwary b Duminy 23, M. Vohra c Vijay b Imran Tahir 42, G. Maxwell b Imran Tahir 14, D. Miller b Duminy 26, W. Saha c Parnell b Shami 13, A. Patel (not out) 42, G. Bailey c Jadhav b Imran Tahir 6, R. Dhawan (not out) 8. Extras (lb-4, w-14) 15. Total (for six wickets in 19.4 overs) 165.
FoW: 1-67, 2-84, 3-92, 4-94, 5-127, 6-155.
Bowling: W. Parnell 3.4-0-42-0, Mohammed Shami 4-0-39-1, J. Unadkat 4-0-31-0, Imran Tahir 4-0-22-3, J. Duminy 4-0-27-2.
