The Kings XI Punjab successfully defended a total of 143 against the Delhi Daredevils, despite a superb 45-ball 57 from Shreyas Iyer.
The Kings XI Punjab were hurt by the absence of Chris Gayle at the top of the order. The ‘Universe Boss’ was crucial to his side’s recent run, but without him, KXIP were exposed.
They lost eight wickets for 143 runs, as the Delhi Daredevils’ bowlers throttled the hosts superbly. Trent Boult’s 2-21 earned him the purple cap, climbing to nine wickets for the campaign. He was helped by Avesh Khan’s two sticks for 36 and Liam Plunkett who finished with 3-17.
The Kings XI top scorer was Karun Nair (34 off 32 balls), followed by David Miller (26 off 19), Lokesh Rahul (23 off 15) and Mayank Agarwal (21 off 16).
The Delhi Daredevils had a similar struggle, losing five wickets for 76 runs. Iyer was remarkable, however, giving his side hope as his teammates collapsed around him.
The 23-year-old needed to score 17 off the final over but he only managed 12, with a four, a six and two as the Daredevils fell four runs short of victory.
Tight bowling from Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-25), Andrew Tye (2-25) and Ankit Rajpoot (2-23) helped restrict the Delhi Daredevils to 139-8.
The Kings XI’s win took them to the top of the standings with 10 points from six matches, the Chennai Super Kings hot on their heels with eight from five.
Photo: Rahul Gulat/ SPORTZPICS/BCCI
