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Delhi Capitals' (DC) Rishabh Pant did not get the desired result in his comeback game as Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone led Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a four-wicket win despite a few hiccups in the penultimate over. Curran's Indian Premier League (IPL) best score of 63 and Livingstone’s unbeaten 38 took PBKS over the line as DC missed the services of an injured Ishant Sharma.
Australians get DC off to a flyer
Earlier, Shikar Dhawan won the toss and opted to field first. Mitchell Marsh hit Curran for two consecutive fours. David Warner went after Arshdeep Singh and hit a six followed by a four. Marsh took on Kagiso Rabada hitting him for a six over deep backward square leg. Arshdeep got the breakthrough for PBKS. Marsh hit a six and then got out next ball handing a catch to cover point fielder Rahul Chahar. He scored 20 runs from 12 balls. Warner took on Rabada and pulled off a pre-meditated scoop over short fine for a maximum. DC were 54/1 after Harpreet Brar’s economical over.
Pant’s comeback knock cut-short
Shai Hope took on Chahar and hit him for a maximum over long-on. Harshal Patel was introduced into the attack and he delivered with Warner's wicket. The opener scored 29 runs from 21 balls. Pant walked in to bat and looked sluggish at the start. Hope hit Rabada for a maximum and lost his wicket next ball. The Caribbean batter scored 33 runs from 25 balls. Pant hit the first boundary in his comeback game off Chahar as Harshal missed an easy chance. In the next over, Pant dismissed a fuller-length delivery for a boundary. But he went for an uppercut off a slower ball and got caught at backward point. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 18 runs from 13 balls.
Porel’s impactful knock
Brar in his third over dismissed Ricky Bhui for a single-digit score. Axar hit a couple of boundaries while Tristan Stubbs lost his wicket to Chahar in an attempt to clear the long-on boundary. Axar hit Rabada for a maximum to push the scoring rate. In the next over, he got run out in an attempt to take the second run. Impact player Abhishek Porel walked out to bat. He hit Harshal for a boundary. In the penultimate over, Sumit Kaur lost his wicket to Arshdeep after scoring just two runs from nine balls. Porel hit a couple of sixes and three fours off Harshal in the final over to take DC to 174/9. On the last ball, Kuldeep Yadav got run out trying to take the second run. Porel remained unbeaten for 32 off 10 balls.
PBKS’ ideal start
PBKS' run chase got off to an excellent start as Khaleel Ahmed was hit for two fours each by Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow. Ishant started with three wides and a boundary but came back well. In his next over, he got the better of Dhawan. The skipper scored 22 runs from 16 balls. Prabhsimran Singh hit two fours to start his innings. Bairstow got run out in the same over as Ishant managed to get his hand on follow-through. Prabhsimran hit Khaleel for two fours as well. PBKS were 60/2 after powerplay overs. Kuldeep Yadav in his second over got rid of Prabhsimran with a googly. He scored 26 runs from 17 balls including five fours. At the halfway stage, PBKS were 87/3.
Curran reaches fifty
Curran played the anchor role for PBKS. In his next over, Kuldeep got Jitesh Sharma stumped for a single-digit score. Kuldeep would have got a third wicket but Curran was dropped by Stubbs at long-on. Curran and Livingstone targetted Marsh and hit him for two fours and a six. The southpaw reached his half-century from 39 balls. In Axar's last over, Pant dropped a tough chance. Marsh's last over was expensive as well. Curran and Livingstone hit the Australian for one six each in the 18-run over.
Livingstone guides PBKS to win despite hiccups
In the penultimate over, Curran got bowled by Khaleel. He scored 63 runs from 47 balls including six fours and a six. On the next ball, Khaleel dismissed Shashank Singh. On the last ball of the over, Khaleel would have got his third but Warner dropped Harpreet Brar's catch at long-on. As Ishant got injured after bowling two overs, Pant handed the ball to debutant Sumit. He started with two wides. On the second ball, Livingstone hit a six to end the run chase. He remained unbeaten for 38 runs off 21 balls after guiding PBKS to a four-wicket win with four balls to spare
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