Sam Curran starred with the bat as Punjab Kings beat Delhi Capitals by wickets to start their campaign in IPL 2024 with a fine win. The England allrounder scored a fine half-century to help his side chase down 175 with four balls remaining.
Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow gave PBKS a fast start by adding 34 runs in three overs before both of them departed in the fourth over. While Dhawan was clean bowled by Ishant Sharma for 22, Bairstow found himself at the receiving end of an unfortunate run-out.
Prabhsimran Singh and Sam Curran then steadied the ship with a 42-run stand before Kuldeep Yadav broke the stand by dismissing the former for 26. Jitesh Sharma could not get going and departed for 9 to leave his side reeling at 100 for 4 in the 12th over.
DC, however, could not capitalise on the breakthroughs as Curran and Liam Livingstone all but put the game to bed by adding 67 runs for the fifth wicket. In the 19th over, Khaleel Ahmed dismissed Curran and Shashank Singh on successive deliveries but it was too late for a comeback. In the last over, Livingstone hit a six to seal the game for his side in style.
PBKS vs DC: DC innings
Earlier in the game, DC posted 174 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs after being asked to bat first. David Warner and Mitchell Marsh gave the team a good start by adding 39 runs in just 20 balls before Arshdeep Singh dismissed the latter.
Warner and Shai Hope quickly steadied the ship and added 34 runs before the former departed for 29. Just like Marsh and Warner, Hope failed to capitalise on the start too and departed for 33. Rishabh Pant, playing his first competitive game since December 2022, scored 18 off 13 balls while Ricky Bhui failed to get going as well as DC found themselves reeling at 111 for 5.
Tristan Stubbs could score only 5 while Axar Patel got the start but could not convert it and departed for 21 to leave DC reeling at 138 for 7. With less than three overs remaining at that stage, it looked highly unlikely that DC would be able to touch the 170-run mark.
However, Abhishek Porel played a brilliant cameo to power his side to a good total. In the final over of the innings, he smashed Harshal Patel for three fours and two sixes and remained unbeaten on 32 off just 10 balls. Hope top-scored for DC with 33 while Arshdeep Singh and Harshal picked up two wickets each for PBKS.
PBKS vs DC scorecard:
