IPL 2018: Delhi lose at home by 4 runs, KXIP claim top spot on points table

Shreyas Iyer tried his level best to bring it home for Delhi Daredevils, but Kings XI Punjab bowlers were a tad better and made sure they seal the win

In a heartbreaking match, Delhi Daredevils lost the match by four runs, chasing the target for 144 against Kings XI Punjab in the 22nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018). Shreyas Iyer took the match to the very last ball but could not see his team through. Kings XI Punjab bowler made sure that wickets keep falling at regular intervals and run flow was controlled. Crucial players failed to perform as Delhi lost three wickets in the powerplay. Rishab Pant was a surprise failure this match. DD lost by 4 runs. KXIP now are on the top of the VIVO IPL points table.

IN PICS: How Kings XI Punjab claim top spot on the points table, as Delhi lose by 4 runs

Glenn Maxwell, Gautam Gambhir disappointed once again and left Delhi reeling at 43-3 in 6 overs with their poor performance. 

Delhi Daredevils bowlers bowled their hearts out to keep KXIP batsmen from scoring runs. KXIP made 143-8.

Liam Plunkett, making his comeback in the team, was the pick of the bowlers. He scalped three wickets and kept the run flow in check. KXIP batsmen, without Chris Gayle, looked totally out of touch and failed to hit big shorts and rotate strike. It seemed that the home advantage played well in favour of Delhi Daredevils. 

Wickets kept falling for Kings XI, as Yuvraj Singh failed to impress once again. He was not in his best form and failed to move his feet much, eventually giving away his wicket. Nair and Miller stabilised the innings and looked to accelerate as only four overs remaining in the innings and the score nowhere close to par. Delhi bowlers kept it really tight despite dropping two sitters. 

Kings Xi Punjab were off to a decent start despite losing two wickets in the powerplay against Delhi Daredevils. Runs kept flowing as Mayank and Nair hit boundaries at regular intervals. However, Avesh Khan took Aaron Finch's wicket, who had a bad outing once again. 




 

Delhi Daredevils innings update: Over by over

Over 1: Ankit Rajpoot to Prithvi Shaw, two successive dot ball. 4 of the 3rd ball and single of the 4th. Rajpoot to Gambhir, wide. Dot ball, away-going delivery, didn't miss the edge by much. Dot ball to finish the over. the ball struck the pad. DRS taken ball pitched outside the leg-stump.

Over 2: Barinder Sran to Shaw, French cut went for four. Another 4 as Show cuts ferociously. Triple of the 3rd ball. Gambhir takes a single off the fourth. Edged the 5th ball for four followed by double of last ball

Over 3: Ankit to Gambhir, plays but no run. Single to Gambhir. Prithvi Shaw on strike. Clean bowled. Swing and a miss, did not move his feet at all First wicket for KXIP. Glenn Maxwell comes in. What a cracking four. KXIP: 30-1

Over 4: Andrew Tye is the new bowler, Maxwell pulls for a huge six. Dot ball. What is Maxwell doing? Two failed attempts of uppercuts. Not advisable. 

Over 5: Rajpoot continues, Gambhir drives for no run. Another dot. Big bouncer. Wide. Single to Gambhir. KXIP bowlers trying to keep it tight. Maxwell pulls hard and he is gone. 

Over 6: Andrew Tye continues, Gambhir is gone. His miserable form continues. Rishab Pant is the new man in. DD: 43-3

Over 7: Rajpoot continues, Shreyas Iyer plays cautiously. Back to back fours. DD: 56-3

Over 8: Ashwin is the new bowler, Decent over, just five runs. DD: 61-4

Over 9: Mujeeb ur Rahman comes in. Bowled, Rishab Pant is gone. Huge wicket for KXIP. Daniel Christian is the new batsman. KXIP 63-4

Over 11: Mujeeb continues, Very decent bowling on display, Shreyas Iyer trying to hold one end. 

Over 12: Ashiwn continues, Cracking shot by Iyer towards cover boundary for four. Single. RUN OUT. Daniel Christian goes. Rahul Tewatia is the new man in. DD: 76-5

Over 13: Sran bowls a wide, double, they need boundaries. Wide again. Useful extra runs. Wide again. Sran needs to keep his length right. Swing and a miss, OUT given. DD reviews, a decision overturned. DD: 84-5

Over 15: Mujeeb continues, what a ball, almost had Tewatia. Dot after dot, This is gonna hurt Delhi. Single to Tewatia. Iyer plays a cracking straight drive. Four. DD: 96-5

Over 16: Andrew Tye continues, Very tight bowling. 100 up for Delhi Daredevils. 6 from the over. DD 101-5

Over 17: Rahul Tewatia smacks one down the ground for huge huge six. Sran bowled a lose one. Single taken. Iyer on strike. Very decent line by Sran. just one. Good comeback. Sweeps for four, seems Tewatia is writing the script of the match. Very well hit, for two, that was a very risky run. Onto the pads for one. 15 runs from the over. DD 116-5. Need 28 from 18 balls. 

Over 18: Tye comes to bowl, Tewatia flashes and gets one. Iyer hits in the air, just falls short of long-off.  Wide, precious runs. Tewaita flicks, just one. In the air, just short, two runs. Single taken. Edge and gone. Tewatia goes. What a moment in the game. End of Over. DD 123-6. Delhi need 21 from 12. 

Over 19: Liam Plunkett is the new man. Sran to continue. One run to Iyer. Plunkett flicks, and is caught. Golden duck for him. Just a single to Iyer. Mishra on strike, Tries to scoop, barely misses the leg stump, plays to the keeper, single taken. Iyer on strike. Mishra on strike again, Swing and a miss. DD: 127-7. Need 17 from 6.

Over 20: Rahman to bowl the final. Iyer connects, six runs. Plays the shot, Takes two. 8 from 2. Here is a four, 5 from 1. In the air, he is gone. KXIP win by 4 runs. What a victory. 

Delhi Daredevils innings analysis after 12 overs

Chasing the below-par score of 144, Gautam Gambhir and Prithvi Shaw came to open the innings for Delhi Daredevils. Ankit Rajpoot came to bowl the first over of the over and gave away 6 runs as Shaw hit the  3rd ball of the over for four over the mid-off. Barinder Sran came to bowl the 2nd over and Shaw hit the first two balls for consecutive fours as he collected 18 runs from the Sran’s 1st over. Ankit Rajpoot came to bowl the 3rd over and took the wicket of Prithvi Shaw of the third ball. Shaw scored 22 runs off the 14 balls with a strike rate of 220.00. Glen Maxwell came to bat after the wicket of Shaw and hit the first ball he faced for four. Rajpoot gave away 6 runs of his 2nd over. Andrew Tye came to bowl the 4th over and hit for a six over deep backward square leg as he gave away 9 runs in his first.

Ankit Rajpoot came to bowl the 5th over and 2 runs in the first 4 balls before taking the wicket of Maxwell who got perished while trying to escalate. Maxwell scored 12 runs off 10 balls. Andrew Tye came to bowl the 6th over and took the wicket of captain Gambhir who again failed to impress with a bat. He scored 4 runs in 13 balls. After the end of the 6 overs, DD was 48/3. Rajpoot came to bowl the 7th over and gave away 8 runs as Iyer hit the last two balls for fours. Ashwin came to bowl the 8th over and gave only 5 runs as Pant, Iyer was trying to rebuild the innings. Mujeeb Ur Rahman came to bowl the 9th over and took the wicket of Pant of the first ball and it’s a big wicket for Punjab. Mujeeb gave away 2 runs and Punjab bowlers were wickets at regular intervals. Ashwin came to the 10th over and gave only 2 runs. Mujeeb continued to bowl from the other end and gave only 3 runs as the required run-rate was heading for 9 runs per over. Ashwin came to bowl the 12th over and hit for a four of the 2nd ball before Christian got run out while taking a 2nd run, a big blow for DD as Christian was looking good. After the end of the 12 overs, Delhi Daredevils was 76 for 5 with Shreyas Iyer and Rahul Tewatia on the crease. 

Barinder Sran came to bowl the 13th over and 8 runs as Umpire gave Iyer out of the last ball but Shreyas immediately reviews it and replay shows it never hit the bat. Ashwin came to bowl the 14th over and gave only 4 runs. Delhi Daredevils needed 56 runs from 36 balls with a required run-rate of 9.33. Mujeeb came to ball the 15th over and 2 runs of the first four balls as Tewatia struggled to handle Mujeeb but Iyer hit the 5th ball straight down the ground for four, followed by a double to collect 8 runs from the over. After the end of 15th over DD needed 48 runs from 30 balls with the required run-rate of 9.60 rpo

Andrew Tye came to bowl the 16th over and Tewatia hit the first ball for a single as DD batsmen scored 5 runs of the over. Barinder Sran came to bowl the 17th over and Tewatia hit the ball over the bowler’s head for six. Tewatia swiped the second ball for a single in the mid-wicket region and again hit the 4th ball for four in the deep fine leg region. Tewatia hit the fifth ball in the extra cover region to collect a risky double. Delhi Daredevils needed 28 runs from 18 balls with a required run rate of over 9 runs per over. 

Andrew Tye came to bowl the 18th over and Delhi Daredevils batsmen scored 2 runs in the first 2 balls followed by a wide outside the off stump. Andrew Tye gave 7 runs in the first 5 balls before he took the wicket of Tewatia to end his full quota of over with bowling figures of 4-0-25-2. DD needed 21runs of 12 balls.

Kings XI Punjab innings update: Over by over

Over 1: Trent Boult to open the attack for Delhi Daredevils. K L Rahul and Aaron Finch to start it up for Kings XI Punjab. Boult to Rahul, no run of the first ball, Rahul takes a single off the second ball. Boult to Finch, one run taken. Rahul takes a quick single off the 4th ball. Finch timed the ball for 2 runs in the cover region. Dot ball to end the over. KXIP: 5-0

Over 2: Avesh Khan is in the attack. Starts off with a dot. Single to Rahul. Finch on strike. Doesn't move his feet, hits in the air, and is caught at covers, gone for 2. Another failed outing for Aaron Finch. Avesh Khan gets his first. Right-handed Mayank Agarwal is the new man in. Flicks off his pads and gets a single. Off the mark Agarwal. What a ripper, Rahul almost edged it. That was a beauty of a delivery by Avesh. Inside edge, misses the stumps, Rahul living dangerously, four runs. End of over. KXIP: 11-1

Over 3: Boult to continue. Width offered to Mayank outside the off stump, he hits it hard for four. And again, this time Mayank guides it to the third man boundary. Nice single to change the strike. Way too outside the off stump, Rahul wacks it for four. Low full toss by Boult onto the pads, Rahul flicks for one. Rare dot ball. End of over. 14 runs came from it. KXIP: 25-1

Over 4: Avesh to continue. K L Rahul bangs it for a six, what a super shot. Easy single to Rahul towards square leg. Mayank flashes it over the cover for a cracking four, what a delightful shot that is. An absolute treat to watch. Easy Single. Two dots to end the over. KXIP: 37-1

Over 5: Liam Plunkett is the new bowler. Single to Mayank. Rahul on strike, hits straight down the ground for a four, he seems to be in a punishing mood. Rahul chips one behind the wicket, it is in the air and a nice catch by fine leg, which was inside the circle, Rahul goes for 23, very careless shot. There was no need to play it when he had scored a boundary on the previous ball. Karun Nair is the new batsman. Edges it towards third man for a single, opens his account. End of over. KXIP: 43-2

Over 6: Avesh continues. nair greets him with a classic cover drive for a  boundary. Similar shot, straight to the fielder. very cheeky single, a direct hit might have gotten Mayank into trouble. A bit short ball, played straight to the man at point. Powerful square cut, double to Mayank. Single to end the over. KXIP: 51-2

Over 7: Daniel Christian is into the attack. Easy single. Nair blocks it well. KXIP: 59-2

Over 8: Plunkett continues. Nair takes a single. Clean bowled, what a ball by Plunkett. Mayank had no clue at all. Did not move his feet. Gone for 21. Yuvraj Singh is the new man in. Good shot for single. End of the over. KXIP 61-3

Over 9: Christian is back. Yuvraj almost edges. Not moving his feet at all. Another dot ball. Yuvraj Singh's body language is very low on confidence. Towards third man for one. Karun tries the uppercut, misses. Straight drive for single. KXIP: 63-3.

Over 10: Good old Amit Mishra comes into the attack. Karun blocks it. Well swept for one. Mishra has a good track record against KXIP. Yuvraj cuts for two. Yuvraj plays straight to the fielder. End of over. KXIP: 68-3

Over 11: Glenn Maxwell comes to bowl, Nair takes a single. Driven by Yuvraj, just for one. Nair steps out and takes a single. Yuvraj takes a single. Nair steps out, barely gets his bat to the ball. Reverse sweep for no run. KXIP: 72-3

Over 12: Mishra continues, Yuvraj takes a double towards fine leg. Wow, he missed it. Almost takes the edge. Single to Yuvraj. Nair rotates the strike. Cheeky shot by Yuvraj, almost carried. KXIP: 76-3

Over 13: Avesh continues. Four runs Nair, inside out. Beautiful shot. Single to Nair, Yuvraj on strike. Swings and misses. Swings again, he is gone. Yuvraj did not move his feet. Bottom edge to the keeper.  KXIP 86-4

Over 14: Mishra continues. Miller hits two cut shorts for double. Single. Nair sweeps almost onto his wicket. Good shot for double, brilliant fielding in the deep. Swept for single. KXIP: 94-4

Over 15: Rahul Tewatia comes in. Single. Miller chases a wide one, no run. Swept by Nair for one. Miller takes a single. Runs not coming. Single. KXIP: 100-4

Over 16: Mishra to Miller, in the air, Prithvi Shaw drops a dolly. There goes Miller, what a huge six. It was in the slot to be hit. Wide ball. Chipped for single, Nair sweeps well for four. Driven for a single. KXIP 116-4

Over 17: Plunkett into the attack, Nair hits in the air and gone. Ravichandran Ashwin is the new man in. Runs just coming in singles. Very tight line by Plunkett. Miller almost plays it onto his stumps. KXIP: 121-5

Over 18: Christian continues, Lucky four for Miller, edged and no slip in play. Miller hammers it, but just for four. Miller tries to hit it over the fence, caught on the boundary. Andrew Tye swings and misses. KXIP: 133-6

Over 19: Plunkett comes in to bowl. Keeping it really tight. Swing and a miss, that is what Punjab batsmen are doing. KXIP: 139-6

Over 20: Boult to finish it off. Starts with a wide. Out, Tye is gone. KXIP: 143-8

Kings XI Punjab innings analysis after 20 overs

Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl first, Lokesh Rahul and Aaron Finch came to open the innings the for Kings XI Punjab. For Delhi Daredevils Trent Boult came to bowl the first over of the match, Boult bowled a brilliant over as he gave away 5 runs in his first. Aveesh Khan came to bowl the 2nd over and took the wicket of Aaron Finch of the third ball of the over as Finch got beaten by the pace and finds the cover field while trying to score big run. Aaron Finch scored 2 runs of the 4 balls. Mayank Agrawal came to bat after the dismissal of Finch and took a single off the first ball he faced. Avesh Khan gave away 6 runs and took the wicket of Finch. Trent Boult came to bowl the 3rd over and hit for a four of the first ball as Mayank Agrawal cuts the ball in the point region and followed by another four in the third man region, Mayank Agrawal timing the ball beautifully as Kings XI  collected 14 runs in the 2nd over of the Boult’s over.

Avesh Khan came to bowl the 4th over and hit for a six of the first ball over deep fine-leg and took a single off the next, sensible batting by Rahul. Mayank Agrawal hit the 3rd ball of the over for four in the cover-point region. Avesh Khan finishes off his 2nd over with 2 come back as he gave away 12 runs. Liam Plunkett came to bowl the 5th over of the innings and for a four over his head by KL Rahul and took the wicket of Rahul of a slower ball. Rahul scored 19 runs off 10 balls with a strike rate of 190.0. Karun Nair came to bat after the dismissal of Rahul. Plunkett gave away 6 runs in his first over. Avesh came to 6th over of the innings and hit for a classic cover drive for four. Avesh Khan pulled it back after getting hit for a four of the first ball as he gave 5 runs in the last 5 balls. At the end of the powerplay, Kings XI was 51 for 2. Mayank Agrawal (19 runs off 13 balls) and Karun Nair (6 runs off 4 balls) were at the crease. 

Daniel Christian came to bowl the 7th over of the innings and Mayank took a single as he nudged the ball in the deep square region. Daniel Christian gave away 8 runs in his four. Plunkett came to bowl the 8th over and took the wicket of Mayank Agrawal of the third ball as he scored 21 runs off 16 balls with a strike rate of 131.25. Yuvraj Singh came to bat after the wicket of Agrawal and took a single off the first ball he faced. Nair played 2 balls of the last two ball as a Plunkett finished his 2nd over giving only 2 runs. Daniel Christian came to bowl the 9th over of the innings and bowled 3 dot balls to Yuvraj Singh as Delhi Daredevils bowled well to bring the run-rate down to 7 runs per over.

Amit Mishra came to bowl the 10th over and gave away only 5 runs as Yuvraj and Nair struggled to score runs of the slow bowlers. Gautam Gambhir asked Maxwell to bowl the 11th over and he gave only 4 runs to bring the KXIP’s run-rate below the 7 rpo. Mishra continued to bowl from the other end and gave 4 runs as Yuvraj was struggling to pick him. After the end of the 12th over KXIP was 76/3 with Yuvraj Singh (10 runs off 15 balls) and Karun Nair (19 runs off the 22 balls)wase on the crease, DD was scoring at the rate of 6.33 runs per over 

Avesh Khan came to bowl the 13th over and hit for a boundary of the first ball by Nair, followed by another four of the 3rd ball by Yuvraj Singh before Avesh took the wicket of Yuvraj. David Miller came to the crease after the dismissal of Yuvraj. Avesh Khan gave 10 runs in his third over. Mishra came to bowl the 14th over of the innings and gave 8 runs as KXIP batsmen took only single and double to score 8 runs of the Mishra’s 3rd over. Rahul Tewatia came to bowl the 15th over and Maxwell dropped Miller at the cover, a big miss. Tewatia gave away 6 runs in his first over as KXIP was scoring at the run-rate of 6.66 runs per over. Amit Mishra came to bowl the 16th over of the innings and Prithvi Shaw put down a sitter at the point of the first ball, second lifeline given to Miller. Miller took the advantage of the dropped catches and hit the 3rd ball of the over for 6 over long-on. Mishra gave away 16 runs in his last over the game. Mishra finished his full quota of overs with the bowling figures of 4-0-33-0

Liam Plunkett came to bowl the 17th ball of the over and took the wicket of Karun Nair as he picked Iyer of the boundary line who just taken the catch. Karun Nair scored 34 runs off the 32 balls. Liam Plunkett was the pick of the bowlers for Delhi Daredevils as gave 5 runs in his 3rd over and took 3 wickets. Daniel Christian came to bowl the 18th over and got hit for a four of the first ball by David Miller. Miller took a double of the 2nd ball as he slogged the ball in the deep square leg.  Christian took the wicket of Miller of the 3rd ball as Miller was trying to score some big runs. Andrew Tye came to the crease after the dismissal of David Miller and get a freebie from Christian, Tye failed to get a contact but ball hit the pad and went for a four. Christian gave away 12 runs in his 3rd over. Liam Plunkett came to bowl the 19th over and gave only 1 of the first two balls as KXIP batsmen failed to connect the ball. Plunkett gave away 6 runs in his 4th over and finished with the bowling figure of 4-0-17-3. Trent Boult came to bowl the last over of the innings and started off with a wide, followed by the wicket of KXIP’s captain Ashwin. Barinder Sran came to bat after the fall of 7th wicket. Trent Boult gave 4 runs and got the wicket of Tye of the last over at the end of 20th over
 

After the 20 overs Kings XI scored 143 runs as their batsmen struggled to score on a dual paced wicket..

Here are the squads for both the teams:

Kings XI Punjab Playing XI: Lokesh Rahul(w), Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Changes: David Miller comes in for Chris Gayle. 

Delhi Daredevils Playing XI: Gautam Gambhir(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Shahbaz Nadeem, Harshal Patel, Trent Boult. Changes: Dan Christian and Liam Plunkett replace Chris Morris and Jason Roy.

 
 
Here are a few things to know about the match between Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) to be played at Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla stadium, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:
 
Delhi Daredevils batsmen who could have made an impact in today’s match against KXIP: Having Jason Roy at the top of the batting order gave DD much impetus but the opener failed to deliver after the 93-run knock against Mumbai Indians. He must rise to the occasion and score some runs. Gautam Gambhir also failed to give any spirited performance in the IPL 2018 and he must lead the team by setting an example. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer batted well in the last match against RCB and need to maintain their hunger to score big runs.
 
Kings XI Punjab batsmen who could have made an impact in today’s match against DD: Kings XI Punjab has the likes of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle at the top of the order followed by Mayank Agrawal, a top run scorer in the Indian domestic season, and Karun Nair. The in-form openers Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul have handed the desired start to Kings XI and will again look to keep the momentum going. While Gayle has amassed 229 runs from three outings, Rahul has accumulated 213 runs from five games, averaging 42.60.
 
Controversy over the use of Ferozshah Kotla stadium's old clubhouse for broadcasting matches: Controversies are not new to Delhi's Ferozshah Stadium. There have been several incidents at this stadium in the past, and this time it is no difefrent. Of late, there has been a ragin debate over the use of an old clubhouse at the stadium. Here are a few things that have happened in the past few days:

On April 13, 2018

IPL matches in Delhi in limbo as no interim order from HC to use the oldclub house
 
The fate of IPL matches in the national capital is in a limbo as the Delhi High Court today declined to pass any interim order allowing use of Ferozshah Kotla stadium's old clubhouse for broadcasting matches without which no fixtures can be held. The court-appointed administrator of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) moved the high court seeking permission to use the old club house, also known as R P Mehra block, to set up the equipment of the broadcasters by April 14, saying that the BCCI has said no match can be held there without that. Justice Rajiv Shakdher, however, said no such interim order would be issued till the block is finally certified as structurally stable by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and the administrator can take the risk of moving equipment there if it wants to. "What if the building collapses tomorrow? What if SDMC says no? I am not saying yes or no. You take the risk if you want to," the court said. It also issued notice to SDMC and sought its stand by April 18 on the plea moved by the administrator, former Supreme Court judge Vikramajit Sen, who has claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said if no broadcasting equipment goes in to the block by April 14, then no IPL matches can be held at the stadium.

April 18, 2018 

Certify old clubhouse of Ferozshah Kotla at your risk: HC to SDMC

The Delhi High Court told the South Delhi Municipal Corporation that its neck would be on the line if the civic body wanted to certify the old club house of Ferozshah Kotla stadium here as structurally stable to accommodate broadcasters and their equipment for the upcoming IPL matches. The high court said if the structure collapses and there is some casualty, the responsibility would rest on the corporation and the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), which owns the stadium. According to the DDCA, if the old club house cannot be used to put up the broadcasting equipment and related personnel, IPL matches scheduled to be held there from April 23 would not take place at this stadium.
 
April 20, 2018

Don't make mistake in enthusiasm to approve club house: HC cautioned SDMC
 
The Delhi High Court today cautioned the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) against making a mistake in its "enthusiasm" to give structural stability approval to the Feroz Shah Kotla's old club house, for setting up equipment to broadcast upcoming IPL matches. The first IPL match at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground is scheduled for April 23. Even as the high court made this observation, it left to the SDMC to take a call, including taking a second opinion, on the structural safety of the old club house, also known as the R P Mehra block. The court said the corporation appeared to be enthusiastic about giving the structural stability approval to the old club house, as till date, it was not even sure if the structure conforms to the National Building Code.