DUBAI : It was the final ball of the game and the Kings XI Punjab needed just 1. Stoinis had just got the wicket of a tired Mayank on the previous ball who caught the only man on the offside boundary. Jordan was the man on strike. Stoinis ran in and a well executed yorker was chipped straight to Rabada at square leg who couldn’t believe his luck when it stuck in his hands. Iyer punched the air, guilty of dropping Mayank at a crucial juncture of the match. The match was TIED! A super over was on the cards only in the second match of the IPL.
Rahul and Pooran were facing the best death bowler, Kagiso Rabada. The South African lived up to his reputation as he skittled the opposition out with just 2 runs on the board. Shami for KXIP bowled a wide and one straying onto the pads to Pant who nudged it for an easy two to take DC home.
But Shami wasn’t to be blamed at all afterall he was the one who bowled his heart out to achieve his best figures in T20 cricket of 3/15. Pant and Iyer steadied the ship for Delhi but one man who brought them back in the game was Stoinis.
The power-hitting that was on display by him took them to a decent total and lifted the spirits of a few in the dugout. The game changer was the last over bowled by Jordan in which he gave away 30 runs where Stoinis contributed to 27 of them.
Trivia : Stoinis vs Jordan in T20s
62 runs, 30 balls, 0 dismissals.
Punjab chasing 157 went from 30-0 to 35-4. They were in serious trouble but it was Agarwal who bailed them out by showing tremendous maturity with the bat. He kept his calm while wickets were tumbling at the other end but the test specialist proved his mettle when he almost took his side home in the last over.
Trivia : Mayank’s innings progression
First 20 balls – 13 runs
Next 20 balls – 29 runs
Last 20 balls – 47 runs
An incident occurred in the 18th over where the umpire declared a run short to KXIP but replays suggested that the bat was dragged beyond the crease (above) and that the run needed to be given to KXIP which eventually made the difference in the end but as they say cricket is a game of margins!
Credit to Rabada for the way he bowled in the super over. He’s done it time and again for DC and this time it was no different.
@cricbuzz
Trivia : Rabada in the death : – (IPL 2019)
23 overs, 19 wickets, 8.73 rpo, strike rate 7.4 (3rd best including all seasons)
Ashwin Injury update : In the one over that he bowled he picked up 2 wickets but dislocated his left shoulder and left the field in pain but Iyer clarified in the presentation.” I spoke to him, he is ready for the next game, at the end of the day it’s physio’s call but he is a strong minded guy.”
The IPL is back and how! Providing unlimited entertainment and excitement to fans but most importantly the quality of cricket remains top notch.
Man of the match : Marcus Stoinis
Stats Courtesy @cricvizanalyst
Thanks for reading this. The next one will be posted soon!
Kanishk Sharma 