Delhi Capitals were off to a horrible start as Shikhar Dhawan was run out due to miscommunication. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were at the crease when the team was struggling at 13 for 3. They both battled well for a while but were dismissed as they tried to accelerate and score big runs. Marcus Stoinis was brilliant with the bat as he scored 53 off just 21 balls. Mohammad Shami was the pick of the bowlers with his 3 wickets.
Kings XI Punjab was chasing only 158 runs, but the momentum was with the Capitals. After a solid start by Rahul and Agarwal, they lost wickets in a flurry. Pooran and Maxwell, who were chosen ahead of IPL legend Chris Gayle were disappointing with the bat. Mayank Agarwal played the innings of his life. The Karnataka batsman scored 89 runs and had almost sealed the win for his side. He was looking weary towards the end of the innings and ran a short in which cost them the match at the end. Stoinis again shined during the last few overs, but this time with the ball.
With the scores tied, the match went to a super over. Kagiso Rabada was excellent with the ball, as he always is in such crucial circumstances. He picked up 2 wickets in a flash and with just 2 runs to get, Delhi Capitals had the victory gifted to them.
Here are 3 things we learned from this match:
Marcus “Saviour” Stoinis
Delhi Capitals have been criticised in the past for not having a good lower middle-order batsman. Their top order is stacked with quality batsmen such as Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer Prithvi Shaw. Rishabh Pant is a good finisher, but at times when the top order fails, he has to come in early. Even when he does play a fine inning, Delhi has often lost games because there is no one to carry the mantle once he gets out.
In Stoinis, they have precisely found what they were seeking for. His explosive half-century took Capitals to a par score of 157 runs, which for the most of the game was looking to be 120-130. His firepower during the death is something that Delhi has been lacking, and with him, they look like real contenders now.
Pacers have a significant role to play
Leading up to the IPL, the consensus was that all the pitches would generate a lot of turn and spinners will enjoy bowling on these pitches. While this isn’t entirely wrong, seamers have a bigger role to play than what we initially thought. During the first game, Lungi Ngidi was the pick of the bowlers with 3 scalps. Even in today’s game, Mohammed Shami was the highest wicket-taker as he bowled his career’s best bowling figures of 3-15.
All 4 teams who have played so far in the tournament have fielded 2 overseas pace bowlers and 0 overseas spin bowlers. This doesn’t mean that it is going to continue throughout the season, but it is an interesting fact.
- Wickets by seam bowlers this IPL (so far): 22
- Wickets by spinners this IPL (so far): 9
No Gayle, No Party:
Chris Gayle is an IPL legend, and anyone who disagrees with this is clueless. Punjab decided to play Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell at the expense of the “Universe Boss”, and it proved costly. Pooran and Maxwell batted 2 times each during the game (super over), but the duo could manage a single run. Chris Jordan, who is also a doubtful inclusion in the team, conceded way too many runs (56) and could see either Gayle, Neesham or Mujeeb take his place in the next game.
Chris Gayle is undoubtedly in the twilight of his career, but he is that type of a batsman who can win games single-handedly. Last season, he scored 490 runs in 13 innings at an average of 40 and a strike rate in excess of 150. This just goes to show that although he has called it a day in international cricket, he does have some valuable runs to offer at the top of the order.
