Delhi Capitals dents Punjab King’s playoff qualification hopes

Rilee Rossouw put on a brilliant show of hitting boundaries all over the ground in his unbeaten knock of 82 runs off 37 balls, and along with the contributions from the top four batsmen of Delhi Capitals, they managed to hand Punjab Kings a 15-run loss, which has significantly impacted their chances of reaching the playoffs.

In the first IPL game in Dharamsala in a decade, David Warner and Prithvi Shaw started cautiously without any boundaries in the first 16 balls before shifting gears. Warner broke free by hitting consecutive fours off Sam Curran, followed by two powerful sixes off Kagiso Rabada. Shaw joined the party by capitalizing on Arshdeep Singh’s lack of pace, hitting him for boundaries – 4, 4, and 6 – in a 16-run over. Warner continued his assault by dispatching Nathan Ellis’ slower balls to the boundary. As a result, the Delhi Capitals ended the powerplay with a strong score of 61 runs and went on to achieve their highest opening partnership in this year’s IPL. Despite a valiant and aggressive innings of 94 runs off 48 balls by Liam Livingstone, the Kings fell just short of the victory. Livingstone fought a solitary battle as his teammates couldn’t provide substantial support, resulting in a defeat that has kept the Kings in the eighth position with 12 points.

With only one match remaining, the Kings now heavily rely on favourable outcomes from other matches to keep their hopes alive in the playoffs race. Currently, three teams have already surpassed the 14-point mark, which is the maximum achievable points for the Kings.

The Kings faced an uphill battle throughout the match as they struggled to keep up with the required run rate. Apart from Atharva Taide, who scored 55 off 42 balls but lacked fluency, no other batter managed to surpass 25 runs. However, Liam Livingstone’s boundary-hitting spree in the latter stages of the innings provided a glimmer of hope for the Kings.

Whether they needed 79 runs off 24 balls or 38 runs off 12 balls, Livingstone’s aggressive approach kept their slim chances alive. Even in the last over, when they required 23 runs from three balls, a no-ball from Ishant Sharma gave them a lifeline. Livingstone capitalized on the free hit by hitting a six, reducing the target to 16 runs from three balls. Unfortunately, Livingstone couldn’t connect with the subsequent full toss and was caught at long-off on the final delivery.