Englishmen Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone added 67 crucial runs for the fifth wicket to lead the Punjab Kings to a tense, four-wicket victory against the Delhi Capitals in their IPL match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Chandigarh on Saturday afternoon.
Requiring 175 for victory Punjab slipped to 100-4 but Curran (63 from 47 balls) and Livingstone held their nerve to take their team to the verge of victory before a late wobble.
Left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed (2-43) bowled Curran with the third ball of the 19th over and had Shashank Singh (0) caught by ‘keeper Rishabh Pant with his next delivery leaving the Kings requiring eight runs from the final eight balls.
Livingstone completed the job to finish with an impressive, unbeaten 38 from 21 balls with two fours and a trio of sixes.
A win to start off ✅
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 23, 2024
Sam Curran & Liam Livingstone guide @PunjabKingsIPL to a 4️⃣ wicket victory over #DC
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/ZhjY0W03bC#TATAIPL | #PBKSvDC pic.twitter.com/OrH2ZXUIID
Earlier, a remarkable late onslaught from No 9 Abishek Porel enabled the Capitals to post a competitive total of 174-9 after slumping to 147-8 with the 21-year-old left-hander smashing an unbeaten 32 from just 10 balls with four fours and two sixes to give his team more than a fighting chance.
All of Delhi’s top four batsmen looked in form but failed to capitalise on strong starts.
David Warner (29 from 21 balls) top edged a clever, slower ball bouncer from Harshal Patel to ‘keeper Jitesh Sharma while Mitchell Marsh (20 from 12 balls) sliced a drive against Arshdeep Singh to backward point.
West Indian ODI captain Shai Hope was also caught at cover for 33 from 25 balls while captain Rishabh Pant’s long-awaited return ended with another slower-ball bouncer from Harshal which the left hander tried to ‘ramp’ but succeeded only in providing a soft catch to Jonny Bairstow at backward point.
Axar Patel belted 21 from 13 balls before a run out ended his innings but Porel made certain there would be a contest in the second innings with a combination of power and subtlety.
Tristan Stubbs’s debut for the Capitals having moved from the Mumbai Indians ended when he drove a slower ball from Rahul Chahar to long on to depart for a disappointing five from eight balls.
Punjab were given a rousing start to their run chase by captain Shikhar Dhawan (22 from 16 balls) and Prabhsimran Singh (26 from 17) but the game was finely balanced before Curran and Livinstone’s alliance swung it the way of Punjab.
Fine hitting tonight 🤩
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 23, 2024
Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone were at their best 🙌
Watch the match LIVE on @JioCinema and @StarSportsIndia 💻📱
Match Updates ▶️ https://t.co/ZhjY0W03bC #TATAIPL | #PBKSvDC pic.twitter.com/TNeuOKF9JN
The major point of interest for most observers was the return to cricket of Rishabh Pant after a career-threatening car crash almost 18 months ago.
The Indian wicketkeeper batsman, who is captaining the Capitals, struck two fours in his innings and looked sharp.
DELHI CAPITALS: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (captain/wkt), Ricky Bhui, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma
PUNJAB KINGS: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wkt), Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Shashank Singh