Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab by five wickets to register their first victory after 11 defeats
PUNE: Delhi Daredevils registered their first victory in 12 Indian Premier League matches and first in IPL-8 beating Kings XI Punjab by five wickets at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here tonight.
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Quickfire half centuries from opener Mayank Agarwal (48-ball 68 with 7x4s & 2x6s) and middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh (39-ball 55 with 5x4s & 3x6s) ensured Delhi Daredevils chased down Punjab’s 165/7 with five wickets to spare, and register their first points in their third IPL-8 encounter. Angelo Matthews (six not out) and Manoj Tiwary (unbeaten on nought) saw Delhi Daredevils over the line with one ball to spare.
Delhi Daredevils player Yuvraj Singh (left) and Mayank Agarwal during their IPL match against Kings XI Punjab in Pune on Wednesday. Pic/PTI
Chasing a challenging 166 for a win, Aggarwal (68) and Yuvraj (55) shared 106 runs for the third wicket to help Delhi
win the match with one ball to spare.
Aggarwal, who was dropped on 42 by Sandeep Sharma of the bowling of Mitchell Johnson, hit seven fours and two sixes in his 48-ball knock while Yuvraj smashed five boundaries and three sixes in his 39-ball innings.
Yuvraj showed glimpses of his old form with some exquisite shots as Delhi reached 169 for five in 19.5 overs.
Both Aggarwal and Yuvraj were out in consecutive deliveries in the 19th over but by that time, Delhi needed just seven runs to win from 10 balls.
Angelo Mathews knocked off the winning run -- a four -- of the bowling of Axar Patel.
They had lost their last nine matches of the previous edition last year before starting this season with two losses before today's win.
The duo came together in the eighth over at team score of 53 for two when captain Jean-Paul Duminy (21) was run out in a bizarre way.
Captain Duminy was unlucky to be run out after a promising start as he fail to reach the crease after a collision with Axar Patel who slid the ball onto the stumps.
Duminy was thrown off balance and lost his bat and landed on his gloves. The TV umpire, after a long review, ruled that Duminy was short of his crease.
Yuvraj and Aggarwal hit some lusty blows against Kings XI bowlers after getting themselves in. Aggarwal smashed Johnson for two fours and a six in the 15th over and then Yuvraj joined the party by hitting two sixes off Axar Patel next over.
The asking rate fell below six in the 18th over and Delhi knocked off the remaining runs.
Earlier, opting top bat first, and riding on a 71-run partnership for the second wicket between opener Virender Sehwag and Wriddhiman Saha (39), Punjab set the Daredevils a respectable target of 166. Sehwag slammed four boundaries and two sixes, including knock one six and two fours off successive balls from by Delhi spinner Imran Tahir in the ninth over. Sehwag was out in the 15th over after he went for his second six in as many balls off Delhi captain Jean Paul Duminy only to hole out to Coulter-Nile.
Kings XI were 73 for one at the halfway mark and went on to add 92 runs from the second 10 overs losing six wickets en route.
Big-hitter Glenn Maxwell made 15 from just five balls for Punjab. For Delhi, leg-spinner Tahir grabbed three wickets though he was expensive by conceding 43 runs.
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