Liam Livingstone infused life into a run chase that seemed dead at halfway stage but his Indian Premier League (IPL) career-best 94-run knock was not enough to chase down a mammoth target of 215 at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala. Delhi Capitals’ (DC) bowling was sub-standard and their fielding was poor as they dropped catches to give Punjab Kings (PBKS) batters few second chances but in the end hosts lost the match by 15 runs. While DC have already been knocked out of IPL 2023 playoffs race, they made PBKS journey more difficult.
PBKS' run chase got off to a poor start. Khaleel Ahmed started off with a maiden over. Shikhar Dhawan became victim to Ishant Sharma again and edged one to first slip fielder Aman Hakim Khan. Prabhsimran Singh attacked in the fourth over with three consecutive fours off Ishant. Atharva Taide took on Anrich Nortje and hit him for a four and a six. Taide gave the same treatment to impact player Mukesh Kumar as well. After powerplay overs, PBKS were 47/1.
Axar Patel broke the partnership with the wicket of Prabhsimran. The opener scored 22 runs from 19 balls including four fours. In the eighth over, Livingstone got an early reprieve as Nortje dropped a sitter. In the 10th over, Yash Dhull dropped Taide's catch as well. At halfway stage, PBKS were 75/2. Livingstone sent the odd ball sailing over the boundary while Taide dealt in boundaries. In the 13th over, Taide got to his half-century from 38 balls. After the 15th over, Taide got retired out to make way for big-hitter Jitesh Sharma. He scored 55 runs from 42 balls including five fours and two sixes.
In the final five overs, PBKS needed 86 runs to win. Jitesh failed to make a mark and got out for a three-ball duck to Nortje. Shahrukh Khan opend his mark with a six first ball. Khaleel came back into the attack and was punished by Livingstone. He even bowled a no-ball which resulted in a six off the free hit delivery. Shahrukh could not do much damage and lost his wicket to the left-arm pacer. Livingstone continued the six-hitting display. Mukesh bowled an expensive 21-run over. Livingstone hit two sixes whereas Curran crossed the boundary once.
In the penultimate over, Curran started off with a four off Nortje. Next ball, he went too far across and got bowled. Harpreet Brar came out to bat and got run out trying to sneak a single via byes. Nortje bowled a brilliant over conceding just one run off next three deliveries. Warner gave the responsibility to defend 33 runs in the final over to Ishant. He started off with a dot ball. The Englishman followed it up with a six and a four. Next ball, Ishant bowled an above-waist height no ball that was hit for a six. But Ishant came back well and bowled three dot balls including a wicket off the last ball to keep Livingstone at pay. The big-hitter’s 48-ball 94 was studded with five fours and nine sixes.
Earlier, Dhawan won the toss and opted to field first. Shaw was hit on the finger in the second over by Rabada and needed medical attention. Shaw and Warner made use of the fielding restrictions and found boundaries often. Warner broke his record for most runs against an opponent in IPL. Shaw broke free in Arshdeep Singh's over. He hit Arshdeep for two fours and a six. After the powerplay overs, DC had 61 runs on the board.
The scoring rate went down after powerplay overs. Warner got a second chance as his catch was dropped in the 10th over when he was batting on 39. However, it did not turn out to be expensive. Curran's slower ball got the better of Warner as Dhawan took a stunning one-handed catch. Warner scored 46 runs from 31 balls including five fours and two sixes. Rossouw got off to a great start with two fours in the 11th over. Rossouw took on Rabada and hit him for two sixes and a four. Shaw got hit on his left hand again by Rabada and needed medical attention. He got to his half-century from 36 deliveries. In the next over, Curran got his wicket. The opener scored 54 runs from 38 balls including seven fours and a six.
Brar was economical in his first over conceding just six runs. Rossouw got to his first IPL fifty from just 25 deliveries. In the penultimate over, Philip Salt took on Ellis and hit him for two sixes and a four. Dhawan trusted Brar to bowl the final over. Rossouw took advantage of it and hit the left-arm spinner for two sixes and a four. Salt ended the innings with a boundary helping DC post 213/2. Rossouw scored 82 runs from 37 balls including six fours and two sixes. On the other end, Salt contributed with a 14-ball 26 including two fours and as many sixes.
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