When batting unit set the small total on the board in shortest format of the game, still it is tough to pick the winner. A target of 144 runs would be chased down 9 out of 10 times on average, but the courtesy some outstanding fielding as well as under-pressure bowling and some smart captaincy by off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Kings XI Punjab restricted the Gambhir’s army to 139 runs.
Kings XI Punjab innings build-up
In the Powerplay overs Kings XI Punjab start average as they score 51 for 2 wicket down, KXIP could only add 49 runs in the middle overs from (7th over to 15h over) and a further 43 runs in the final five overs, to eventually finish at 143-8 in the 20 over. Karun Nair’s scores 34 runs from 32 balls would be the top-score of the innings, while Proteas batsmen David Miller’s 26 would be the second-highest score.
Delhi Daredevils innings build-up
In the Powerplay overs Delhi Daredevil score 56 for 3 wicket down, the hosts only managed 40-2 in the middle nine overs (7th over to 15th over, leaving them to score 48 off the final five overs. While Shreyas Iyer hung around and made an impressively compiled 57, the only other contribution of note in the DD middle order was that of Rahul Tewatia, who contributed 24 from 21 balls, in the 47-run partnership for the sixth wicket. But Tewatia was dismissed off the final ball of the eighteenth over, leaving Shreyas to do all the scoring. Despite Shreyas’ best efforts, DD still fell short.
Kings XI Punjab -- 143/8 in 20 overs (Karun Nair 34, David Miller 26; Liam Plunkett 3-17) beat Delhi Daredevils -- 139/8 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 57, Rahul Tewatia 24; Ankit Rajpoot 2-23) by 4 runs.
