KL Rahul celebrates his fifty against Delhi Daredevils in Mohali
A comfortable win in the end for Kings XI Punjab! KL Rahul's scintillating knock sealed the chase more or less inside the Powerplay and Karun Nair made sure that they don't lose track with his innings. Delhi Daredevils were shell-shocked after the attack by Rahul and never really recovered. They did try by picking wickets here and there but that never bothered the home team. Good beginning to the season for Punjab under the leadership of Ravichandran Ashwin. Their bowlers did a decent job to restrict Delhi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, in particular, impressed one and all. The batting department, although, with the exception of Rahul and Nair, looked a bit rusty and they would like to work on it. Delhi, on the other hand, will be disappointed with their bowling and would have to pull up their socks. (SCORECARD) (CATCH LIVE UPDATES, MATCH 3 - KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE)
HIGHLIGHTS KINGS XI PUNJAB VS DELHI DAREDEVILS, IPL 2018, MATCH 2 FROM MOHALI
19.27 IST:
19.25 IST: Kings XI Punjab (167/4) beat Delhi Daredevils (166/7) by 6 wickets in Mohali. KL Rahul 51, Karun Nair 50
19.23 IST: FOUR! SCORES ARE LEVEL! That has been SMASHED! Full and it is the off pace delivery. Stoinis reads it early and thrashes it down the ground for a boundary. KXIP 166/4 in 18.4 overs
19.18 IST: Another slower ball, which sticks on the surface. Miller tries to pull it goes off the bottom half towards deep square leg for a brace. KXIP 157/4 in 18 overs
Chris Morris is back into the attack.
19.11 IST: FOUR! Stoinis picks up the gap beautifully, he shreds the gap brilliantly at deep cover by making some room for himself. KXIP 152/4 in 17 overs
19.09 IST: What a shot to play on your first ball! WOW! Looks like he has been hitting the ball really well in the nets. A full ball on middle, Stoinis shows the full face of the bat and drives it straight down the ground for a brace. KXIP 141/4 in 16 overs
19.07 IST: Marcus Stoinis is the next man in.
The last and final strategic break of the game has been taken with the fall of the wicket. Punjab are going about their work solidly and will be unhappy with the fall of Karun who just got to his fifty. They still have Stoinis and Axar who can hit the ball a long way. Should be an easy chase if they don't scrub to pressure.
19.04 IST: OUT! No, he can't! Fifty and out for Karun. This too was a similar ball to the one he hit out of the park. Slower ball and on a shorter length. Karun rocks back and pulls it hard and flat. He however, does not get the desired elevation. Boult in the deep runs to his right and takes a good catch reverse cup. A good knock by the lad from Karnataka comes to an end. He has taken his team to the brink of victory. However, Delhi not giving it easy to them. 29 more needed in 26. KXIP 138/4 in 15.4 overs, need 29 runs to win vs DD (166/7)
19.02 IST: SIX! FIFTY! Just as i write that, Nair sends the ball into the stands and brings his fifty up in style! Short and it is the slower one. Karun reads it and pulls it over the mid-wicket fence for a biggie. Takes his helmet off and kisses the badge. 29 more needed in 27. Can he take his side all the way? KXIP 138/3 in 15.2 overs, need 29 runs to win vs DD (166/7)
19.01 IST: KXIP 132/3 in 15 overs
18.57 IST: Punched off the back foot by the batsman. The batsmen have run through for a single. Another tight over but no wickets. 41 from 36 needed. KXIP 126/3 in 14 overs
18.53 IST: Miller flicks it with turn through the on side for a run. A good over this by Mishra, just 6 from it but wickets is what Delhi need.. KXIP 121/3 in 13 overs
18.49 IST: Excellent fielding! Tewatia tosses this one up on off, it turns away a touch. Nair tries to defend but the ball goes off the outside edge towards short third man. Mishra there runs to his left, dives full stretch and stops it. He can't stop a single though. KXIP 115/3 in 12 overs
18.47 IST: FOUR! These are hit me balls. Just poor from Delhi. Short and wide outside off, the ball is begging to be hit. Miller rocks back and places it through covers for a boundary. 54 from 53 now. KXIP 113/3 in 11.1 overs
18.44 IST: FOUR! Poor, very poor to start with by Mishra. After such a good previous over, Mishra bowls a nothing ball. Down the leg side. Nair sweeps it fine for a boundary. KXIP 103/3 in 10.1 overs
Killer Miller, David Miller is the next man in.
18.40 IST: OUT! After a couple of dots balls Yuvraj tries taking the aerial route and holes out. A nothing ball from Rahul, bowls this short on leg, Singh charges down the wicket and looks to go over mid-wicket. He doesn't time it well and the ball goes straight down the throat of Vijay Shankar who won't drop these. A wicket just after the break. How many times have we seen this happen? Punjab now need 70 runs off 64 balls.. Kings XI Punjab 97/3 in 9.2 overs vs Delhi Daredevils (166/7)
Strategic time-out has been signalled! Punjab are cruising at the moment. Wickets is what Delhi need and that too in a heap if they are to get back in the game.
18.36 IST: FOUR! Hat-tricks of boundaries for Karun. Not sure if he intended it to go this fine but he will take this any day. Another full ball outside off, Karun plays it late and it goes past the keeper to the third man fence. KXIP 97/2 in 9 overs
18.34 IST: FOUR! Drags his length back a bit, Nair cross bats this through mid-wicket and it will beat the man in the deep. KXIP 93/2 in 8.4 overs
18.33 IST: FOUR! Shami serves this on a good length outside off, Karun leans forwards and drives it handsomely through covers. The ball races away to the fence. KXIP 89/2 in 8.3 overs
Mohammed Shami comes in for another over.
18.30 IST: Good end to the over from Daniel. Singh closes his bat face a tad early and gets and leading edge short of the man at covers. Just three runs from this over. KXIP 83/2 in 8 overs
Daniel Christian comes to bowl his first over.
18.23 IST: SIX! Stand and deliver from Nair! Length ball around off, Nair extends his arms and holds his pose while he sends his ball over the long off stand. KXIP 79/2 in 6.2 overs
18.21 IST: EDGED BUT RUNS! Everything going Punjab's way here. A good slower one outside off, Yuvraj is early into the drive as the ball takes the outside edge and goes through the vacant slip cordon and down to the third man fence. KXIP 73/2 in 5.4 overs
18.19 IST: FOUR! Off the mark in some style! Full and on middle, Morris was going for the yorker but misses by a little. The margin of error is very less in this game. Karun flicks it through mid-wicket and the ball races away. KXIP 68/2 in 5.2 overs
Karun Nair joins Yuvraj in the middle.
18.17 IST: OUT! Rahul holes out trying to hit another one. An attempted yorker which turns out to be a full toss, KL tries to work this on the leg side but gets a top edge to it. The ball flies in the air towards short third man where Shami gets under the ball and takes a good catch under pressure. The Delhi players are all pumped up now. What an innings from Rahul. Surely has done his job for the team. KXIP 64/2 in 4.5 overs
18.15 IST: FOUR! Not this time! Bowls another short ball into Yuvraj who hooks this through square leg for his first boundary. KXIP 63/1 in 4 overs
Yuvraj Singh is the new man in.
18.11 IST: WICKET! A wicket against the run of play for Delhi. Slow ball in line of the stumps and Mayank is early in his shot. Plays this with a straight bat and chips it to the man stationed at mid-on. Mohammed Shami there, takes a very simple catch and the crowd is stunt silent. Punjab require 109 more. KXIP 58/1 in 3.2 overs
18.10 IST: SIX! Another biggie but this time from the bat of Mayank. Length ball on off, Agarwal leans forward and chips this over mid off. The ball sails over the fence. KXIP 58/0 in 3.1 overs
18.08 IST: FOUR! Fifty for Rahul! He gets there in just 14 balls. What an innings this has already been. Charges down the track and smacks this along the turf to beat the man at long on. KXIP 52/0 in 3 overs, need 115 runs to win vs DD (166/7)
18.07 IST: FOUR! Rahul is dealing in boundaries. Short ball on middle, Rahul pulls this through mid-wicket for a boundary.
18.06 IST: SIX! Another maximum! It doesn't matter if he is off balance he can still hit them all the way. Darts this full on leg, KL gets on one knee and sweeps this over fine leg. KXIP 44/0 in 2.3 overs
18.05 IST: SIX! This was is gone all the way over the ropes! Another slow ball on off, Rahul stands tall and chips this over mid off for a biggie.
18.04 IST: FOUR! Tossed up ball outside off, Rahul leans forward and slaps it through covers for a boundary. KXIP 32/0 in 2.1 overs
18.03 IST: FOUR! And this time a boundary. KXIP's most expensive buy has started to delight in IPL 2018. Length ball on leg, Rahul whips it away through square leg for a boundary. He now moves to 26 from 8 balls.
18.02 IST: SIX! Rahul is in the mood! Effort ball from Shami on leg, KL pulls this towards the fine leg region for a maximum.
18.01 IST: Mohammed Shami will bowl from the other end.
18.00 IST: FOUR! Rahul hits it confidently and take KXIP to 16/0 after the first over.
17.59 IST: FOUR! Up and over this time! Length ball on off, KL gets behind the ball and lofts it over covers for a boundary.
17.58 IST: SIX! Rahul gives KXIP a flying start in Mohali. Drags his length back and digs this one short down the leg. Rahul pulls this over the short fine leg fielder all the way to the fence.
17.55 IST: KXIP openers are on the crease for the chase of 167. The umpires are out in the middle and the Delhi players have taken the field. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal will open the innings for Punjab. Trent Boult will bowl with the new ball for the visitors. A slip in place.
17.40 IST: Gautam Gambhir's fifty leads Delhi to 166/7 in 20 overs. WICKET! TIMBER! Excellent delivery to finish by Mohit Sharma. Full and in the blockhole. Not a lot Christian could have done with that, he tries to caress it through the off side but misses to see the ball hit the off pole. So a wicket off the last ball but 11 from the over. DELHI FINISH WITH 166 FOR 7!
17.39 IST: FOUR! No, wait, the umpire by mistake signals it a boundary but it is three runs. Sharma goes full this time on middle. Morris flicks it through the leg side. Once again it is in the gap between deep square leg and deep mid-wicket. Tye runs to his right from the latter position, slides and pushes it with his legs. Stoinis who comes running in from deep square leg does the mopping up job. The umpire goes upstairs to check and it is fine. But the umpire signals a boundary and then corrects himself. Three runs added to the total.
17.38 IST: FOUR! Just bounced inside! Much-needed for Delhi! Mohit bangs it halfway down once again. It is also slow and it sits up to be hit. Morris waits for it, selects his spot and then pulls it in the gap between long on and deep mid-wicket for a boundary.
17.35 IST: Mohit Sharma is back into the attack. He will bowl the last over. Can he keep them below 170?
17.34 IST: Daniel Christian makes no mistake here, hits a HUGE SIX! Length ball on off, it sits up nicely for Christian who powers it deep into the stand at long on. DD 155/6 in 19 overs.
17.33 IST: FREE-HIT! Andrew Tye to Daniel Christian, No ball! Tye raises his arm in apology as soon as he delivers this ball. Tries getting the blockhole but the ball slips from his hand. It goes above the waist height of Christian down the leg side. Daniel gets out of the way and lets it through to the keeper.
17.26 IST: SIX! Chris Morris displays his clean striking abilities here. Enough of sighters for Morris. This time he comes down the wicket. He gets the ball right in his zone. Maintains his balance and then sends it sailing over the long on fence. To add to all that, he also holds his pose for the camera. So a maximum of the penultimate ball which spoils the over. DD 137/6 in 16.5 overs.
17.21 IST: Daniel Christian is the new man in.
17.20 IST: Tewatia joins his skipper in the pavilion. OUT! Ashwin removes Rahul Tewatia for 9. Ashwin gets his first wicket. Tewatia tries one too many times to switch hit and pays the price. Slower ball in line of the stumps, Tewatia gets low and tries to reverse sweep this one. He completely plays across the wrong line and is caught plump in front of the stumps. He knew it as soon as he missed his shot. The umpire raises his finger and Rahul walks back in disappointment. Delhi Daredevils 125/6 in 15.3 overs vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.
17.18 IST: OUT! Gambhir run out for 55. The skipper departs after a well played innings. Full ball down the leg side, Rahul helps it on it's way to the short fine leg fielder and quickly runs to the other end. Gambhir responds to the call and before he knew, Mujeeb collects the ball and hits the target at the striker's end. Gambhir didn't look confident and the umpire takes it upstairs. On seeing the replay we see that the skipper is just short of his crease as the leg lights flash. Delhi Daredevils 123/5 in 15 overs vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.
17.15 IST: REVIEW! Gambhir Gone? Let's check. A run out appeal has been referred upstairs. the skipper is the man in the picture. That looked out to the naked-eye! Has Punjab got their man?
17.07 IST: Daniel Christian joins the skipper in the middle.
17.06 IST: OUT! Mujeeb removes Pant for 28. Another bowling change from the skipper and another wicket for Mujeeb. Gives this air outside off by bowling a googly. Pant charges down the wicket and looks to swing this over mid-wicket. He does not read the spin and it takes an edge and flies high towards mid off. Tye hares backwards and takes a very good catch. Delhi Daredevils 111/4 in 13.2 overs vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.
17.02 IST: FOUR! Pant welcomes Tye with a boundary. Slower ball from Tye. Pant is early in his shot but the ball goes in the gap over mid-wicket to the fence.
17.01 IST: Andrew Tye is brought back on.
17.00 IST: FIFTY! Gautam Gambhir hits his 36th IPL half-ton off 36 balls. Ravichandran Ashwin to Gautam Gambhir, 1 run. Fifty for Gambhir! Leading from the front like he does always. Drives this past covers for a run to get to his milestone. Delhi Daredevils 89/3 in 11.5 overs vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.
16.51 IST: Rishabh Pant is the new man in.
16.50 IST: OUT! Mohit Sharma removes Vijay Shankar for 13. A bowling change has done the trick for Punjab. Mohit strikes in his very first ball. Serves a slower one on a back of a length area. Shankar looks to heave this away but manages to get it off the toe end of the blade. The bat turns is his hand and skies towards deep mid-wicket where Axar Patel settles under it at takes a good catch. A good move by the skipper and a very handy bowl for them. Delhi Daredevils 77/3 in 10.1 overs vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.
16.42 IST: The first strategic break of the game has been taken. The Punjab spinners are trying to spin a web to this Delhi batting. They are rotating their spinners well and getting their rewards. For the tourists, their skipper is holding things up quite well.
16.40 IST: FOUR! Top edge but FOUR! Down the leg side, Gambhir tries to help it onits way but gets a top edge which goes over short fine leg and into the fence. There were shouts of 'catch it' but it was well over the fielder.
16.38 IST: DD 61/2 in 8 overs. Ravichandran Ashwin to Vijay Shankar, 1 run. The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball. One run added to the total.
16.33 IST: Vijay Shankar walks out to the middle.
16.32 IST: OUT! Axar removes Shreyas Iyer for 11. EDGED AND TAKEN! Axar strikes and this should make him feel better. He had been taken to the cleaners previously and now gets a timely wicket. Tosses this one up outside off, it turns away after pitching. Iyer goes for a booming drive through but the ball takes the outside edge and goes into the gloves off Rahul who takes a sharp catch. Iyer walks back cheaply and just as a partnership was starting to build for Delhi, it has been broken. Delhi Daredevils 54/2 in 6.5 overs vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.
16.30 IST: SIX! Iyer smashes it straight for a SIX! Enough is enough, says Iyer. He comes down the track, gets to the pitch of the ball and sends it sailing over the bowler's head for a biggie.
16.25 IST: Andrew Tye is into the attack.
16.24 IST: NOT OUT! Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Shreyas Iyer, No run. Umpire's call, Punjab do not lose a review. Mujeeb fires it on middle, this one turns back in. Iyer goes back to keep it out but is late to bring his bat down. The ball hits him a little high on the pads. The players make a huge appeal but the umpire shakes his head. After a chat with his teammates, Ashwin decides to review. They take it upstairs. No bat involved and Hawk Eye shows it to be clipping the top of off. The on-field call stays. DD 39/1 in 5 overs.
16.22 IST: REVIEW! Is Iyer gone? It is all happening out there. There is an appeal for an LBW against Iyer. The umpire shakes his head. But Ashwin wants it to be taken upstairs. Looks high though.
16.18 IST: SIX! And this time a SIX! Maybe it was not the right idea to get the left arm spinner when Gambhir is batting. 14 from the last three balls. Axar tosses this one up. Gambhir goes straight this time. The connection is excellent as it has gone all the way over long off.
16.16 IST: FOUR! Gambhir seems too happy to don Delhi jersey again. His two consecutive boundaries have made this evident. Back-to-back boundaries. Swept to perfection this one. Patel floats it up on middle, Gambhir goes down on one knee and sweeps it hard through square leg and the ball races away.
16.15 IST: FOUR! Excellent shot! Looking to take on the left arm spinner. He moves away and gets a full ball on the stumps. He goes inside out and lofts it over covers for the first boundary of the game.
16.14 IST: OUT! Mujeeb removes Munro for 4. First wicket for Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the Indian T20 League and it is the big one of Colin Munro. Everybody knows how dangerous he can be. Big blow for Delhi. Munro finally loses his patience and goes for the fancy reverse sweep. He however, picked the wrong ball as it is very full and on the stumps. Munro misses to get hit on the pads and that is that. The players appeal and the umpire straightaway raises his finger. Munro starts walking back as he knows he is a dead duck. The Punjab players are pumped as they have an early wicket. Delhi Daredevils 12/1 in 2.3 overs vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.
16.10 IST: Mohit Sharma concedes 5 runs in his first over. Mohit Sharma to Gautam Gambhir, 1 run. On middle, stays a touch low. Gautam tries to flick but it goes off the toe end towards square leg for a single. Another tight over, a watchful beginning by Delhi. Maybe trying to asses the pitch first.
16.05 IST: DD 6/0 in 1 over. Ravichandran Ashwin to Gautam Gambhir, 1 run. A single to end the over! A good one by Ashwin. ON leg stump, flicked through square leg for a run.
16.03 IST: NOT OUT! Ravichandran Ashwin to Colin Munro, No run. One look is all the umpire needed as Munro was inside. But encouraging signs for Ashwin as he got that one to turn. He bowls a loopy ball around off, drawing the batsman to drive. Munro does so as he plants his front foot forward and tries to stoke it. The ball, however, turns away and that beats the outside edge. Rahul collects and whips the bails off and appeals. He seems to be confident. The umpire takes it upstairs and the replay shows Munro has his foot inside the crease. Munro survives and Delhi will breathe a sigh of a relief.
16.02 IST: Has Ashwin struck in his first over? They have gone upstairs to check for a stumping and Rahul is very confident.
16.00 IST: We are all set to begin. The umpires and the players make their way out to the middle. The pair of Gautam Gambhir and Colin Munro make their way out to the middle. They will look to make good use of the Powerplay. Whereas, Ravichandran Ashwin will open the bowling for Punjab.
15.46 IST: Delhi Daredevils Playing XI: Gautam Gambhir (C), Colin Munro, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris, Vijay Shankar, Daniel Christian, Rahul Tewatia, Amit Mishra, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami
15.44 IST: Kings XI Punjab Playing XI: Lokesh Rahul (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
15.42 IST: KXIP star campaigner Yuvraj Singh stretches his muscles ahead of the Delhi encounter.
15.38 IST: "It's great coming back home. Hopefully we can turn it around. Hopefully all of us together can. It's just about trying to implement what we want to do on the field. We're playing Munro, Christian, Morris and Boult," says Delhi skipper Gautam Gambhir at toss.
15.33 IST: "Playing the IPL, which is one of the marquee events, and I am very happy. We have a lot of international experience. It's a new start. A decade if IPL is gone by and the franchises are looking to build a new culture. We're playing Stoinis, Miller, Zadran and Tye as our four overseas players," Ashwin says after winning the toss.
15.30 IST: TOSS! Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and have opted to field against Delhi Daredevils in the second match of the IPL 2018.
15.25 IST: The debutants of the game from Delhi Daredevils receive their caps as match 2 of the IPL is about to get underway at Mohali.
15.15 IST: Northern rivals Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils aim to end their trophy drought in the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League 2018. The two franchises will face each other in their opening matches on April 8 and will look to prevail victorious over the other. Under new leaders Gautam Gambhir (Delhi) and Ravichandran Ashwin (Punjab), both outfits will want to make a fresh start and make the most of the talent pool they have in their ranks. (Read Full Match Preview)
