All the other qualified teams supported the Delhi Capitals to defeat the Punjab Kings. The 2020 finalists won the toss and decided to chase the target. Faf du Plessis was once again the team’s captain, with Axar Patel still out due to injury. The Capitals were able to dismiss Punjab’s in-form uncapped openers early. While Priyansh Arya scored just 6 runs, Prabhsimran Singh got out after scoring a quickfire 28 runs off just 18 balls.
Josh Inglis came in at one down and again played an impactful innings, scoring 32 runs off 12 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. However, the real hero was the PBKS captain, Shreyas Iyer, who scored a valuable half-century before Kuldeep Yadav dismissed him for 52. Marcus Stoinis’ contribution was also important, scoring 44 runs off 16 balls with a strike rate of 275. The Kings managed to score 208 runs, with Mustafizur Rahman being their best bowler, taking 3 wickets in 4 overs.
DC had to chase 207 runs in 20 overs, as KL Rahul and du Plessis came out to bat. Both batters gave a decent start to their team, scoring more than 60 runs in the powerplay. Unfortunately, the Kings were able to take both of their wickets, thanks to Harpreet Brar and Marco Jansen. While Rahul scored 35 runs off 21 balls, the former RCB captain got out for 23 runs, hitting 2 fours and 1 six.
However, it was Sameer Rizvi and Karun Nair who truly gave the chase a boost. The duo managed to score 155 runs by the end of the 15th over. With 54 runs needed from just 30 balls, DC looked in complete control. Despite Nair getting out for 44, Rizvi continued to strike the ball well and managed to bring the equation down to 22 runs in the last 2 overs. In the final over, Rizvi won the match by hitting a six and also completed his maiden half-century in the IPL. While it was agony for the Kings, it was ecstasy for other teams like RCB, MI, and GT.
Fans react to Punjab Kings’ loss in an important match against Delhi Capitals
RCB, MI, and GT fans were hoping that DC would pull off a miracle, and that’s exactly what happened. Axar’s team, who had won only 1 of their last 7 matches, suddenly defeated the second-ranked team. Some RCB fans were happy about the fact that they still had a chance to finish in the top 2, despite losing their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
One fan stated that this IPL season was about to get exciting with all the top teams losing their matches. Another fan was so confident it was the Mumbai Indians’ year that he sarcastically said other teams should’ve stopped fighting at this stage. Here are some top reactions from the fans:
One user gave valuable credit to Rizvi for his incredible innings under pressure while chasing. Another fan trolled PBKS for bottling the match from a winning position. Many fans expected the same from CSK, who will play their last match against GT. Some fans blamed Arshdeep Singh, who gave away 35 runs in his 4 overs without taking a wicket.