Gift

'FIVE REASONS WHY'

Kings XI Punjab won against Delhi Capitals.  The 14th match of the Indian Premier League 2019 saw Delhi capitals gift Kings XI Punjab an easy victory at the end, having dominated majority of the proceedings.  

#5 Delhi complacent to finish off games

Ricky Ponting (right) and Sourav Ganguly (left)
Source: Google

The complacency to finish off games, having that killer instinct seems to be missing.  Against Kolkata Night Riders, Prithvi Shaw’s 99 almost made sure of a Delhi win well within the stipulated 20 overs, but still the match was stretched till the last ball, followed by a win in the super over.  India internationals Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari need to step up their game to take their team over the line.  Over dependency on Kagiso Rabada might prove to be a chink in Delhi’s armour.  With many teams losing England (after 25^th April) and Australian (after 1^st may) internationals before the league stage end on 5^th of May, Delhi might just escape the intensity of this defeat having more South Africans in their ranks.  But looking at the current form, this young lot of players, with strike rate around 165, need to be responsible and at least finish off matches that do not require to chase more than run a ball.

#4 Mandeep Singh keeping his cool

Mandeep Singh
Source: Google

Probably the most important runs were hit in the last two balls of Punjab’s innings.  After taking a wicket of the first ball and a run out of the fourth, Kagiso Rabada continued to dazzle in the death overs, conceding only three runs of the first four balls.  With a winning super over display in the last match, Rabada looked ominous with his accurate yorkers only to be hit for 10 runs off the last two deliveries by Mandeep Singh, both over mid-off.  Those two shots proved too much to overcome for Delhi, as they lost by 14 runs with four balls to spare.  Singh’s fielding also did not go unnoticed. 

#3 Rishabh Pant’s dismissal

Rishabh Pant
Source: Google

To survive at the top level, you need to learn from your mistakes in the least amount of time. Something which we expect from the calibre of Rishabh Pant.  But after doing all the hard work in his innings, one careless shot is his undoing.  As Delhi inched closer towards their target, needing only 23 off 21 balls, Pant failed to connect a straight over pitched delivery from Mohammed Shami.  This shot followed a six hit over mid-wicket off a slower ball from Shami.  The next ball resulted in a run-out that gave Punjab a sniff.  Rishabh needed to rotate strike when madness took over and tried repeating the shot instead of hitting the ball straight over the bowler’s head or inside-out over covers.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin’s run-out of Chris Morris

Ravichandran Ashwin
Source: Google

Considered to be carrying heavy legs, limited over discard Ravichandran Ashwin proved that age is just a number.  Delhi seemed to be cruising towards their target when Kings XI skipper lifted the morale of his team by a direct throw from mid-off to send back dangerous Morris.  Fielding has never been Ashwin’s forte as he looked lethargic in the field, giving away singles inside the 30 yard circle, but came to his team’s rescue when it needed the most.  Hopefully post Mankaded incident, Ashwin is in the news for better reasons.

#1 Sam Curran joins the party with a hattrick

Sam Curran
Source: Google

When Sam Curran came out to open with KL Rahul, it surprised everyone.  But what wasn’t surprising was his prowess with the ball.  Having been the better opener already, Curran took four wickets, including a hattrick, in only 14 balls giving away just 11 runs.  7.20 crore spent on the young allrounder paid dividends as he took the most important wicket of Colin Ingram.  Younger brother of England international Tom Curran, Sam was named as one of the eight players to watch in the 2019 edition of the IPL.  Getting the ball to seam away from Harshal Patel, he succeded in getting a nick of the last ball of his 2^nd over before rattling the stumps of Kagiso Rabada and Sandeep Lamichhane in the first two of his third over to confirm the remarkable feat, first of this IPL.