After their humiliating 10-wicket loss at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) the other night, Delhi Daredevils had no option but to go all out against Kings XI Punjab in their final home game at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Friday. It was a make-or-break situation for both teams. Another slip-up would have proved costly.
After their humiliating 10-wicket loss at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) the other night, Delhi Daredevils had no option but to go all out against Kings XI Punjab in their final home game at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Friday. It was a make-or-break situation for both teams. Another slip-up would have proved costly.
In the end, a fit-again Zaheer Khan helped Delhi outclass Punjab by nine wickets. It proved to be a perfect weekend party for Delhi as Khan and Nathan Coulter-Nile helped the hosts restrict Punjab to a meagre 118/8 before their openers, Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal, hit dazzling half-centuries to complete the win in just 13.5 overs.
Delhi skipper JP Duminy opted to field first and his bowlers justified the decision by chipping in with wickets at regular intervals. Zaheer celebrated his return to the competitive cricket after a hiatus of almost one year by dismissing Virender Sehwag (1) off the second ball of the game.
It all went downhill for Punjab from there and it required a strong seventh wicket stand of 57 runs between David Miller and Axar Patel to help the visitors move to their eventual score. Nathan Coulter-Nile's four wicket haul also played a big role in Delhi's dominance.
It was finally left to David Miller and Axar Patel to take team past the 100-run mark. Miller had started slowly but went on to score some quick runs. He and Patel managed to stretch their partnership to 57 before the latter was dismissed in the 18th over.
Chasing a modest target, Delhi's chase seemed a cakewalk as the opening duo of Iyer and Agarwal made a mockery of the paltry total with some breathtaking hits to the fence.
There were some quiet overs from Sandeep Sharma in the middle, but the batsmen were largely untroubled in pursuit of Delhi's fourth win. Iyer slammed the wayward Thisara Perera to the square leg fence to reach his half century in 38 balls, but he was caught at deep midwicket in the next over. Agarwal remained unbeaten with 52 from 40.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}