Edge-of-the-seat scenes as DC snatches near win from grasping KXIP

One game, that’s all it took for the first Super Over-finish in the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 and it was Delhi Capitals, who came on top, beating Kings XI Punjab at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Needing 158 runs to win, KXIP were off to a watchful start, scoring 30 off 26 balls. DC then picked up 4 wickets for 5 runs. 

First, Mohit Sharma castled Rahul for 21. R Ashwin, bowling the final over of the powerplay, then dismissed Karun Nair and Nicholas Pooran. 

However, Ashwin, diving to save a run, injured his shoulder on the final ball of the same over.

While Ashwin had to walk off from the field, Kagiso Rabada got Glenn Maxwell out for 1. KXIP lost one more wicket as Sarfaraz Khan departed soon after his side crossed the fifty-run mark.

Agarwal, who had opened the batting along with Rahul, and K Gowtham then added 46 runs together, pushing KXIP past 100. However, the partnership was broken as Rabada picked his second wicket, dismissing K Gowtham.

Agarwal, who brought up his fifty in the 18th over with a six, though kept the KXIP hopes alive. The right-hander ran hard between the wickets and cleared the ropes with utmost ease at the death.

KXIP were in need of 25 runs in the last 2 overs and Mayank almost pulled them through. However, with the scores tied and KXIP required to score 1 off 2 balls, Mayank, after scoring 89, got out on the penultimate ball of the final over.

 Stoinis then dismissed Chris Joran as Rabada held on to a catch at short square-leg to push the game into the Super Over.

Rabada, who had earlier picked up two wickets in his 4-over spell, then got KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran and restricted KXIP to 2. DC, who needed 3 to win the game in Super Over, without losing a wicket.

Earlier, KXIP struck early after electing to bowl as DC lost Shikhar Dhawan via run-out. Shimron Hetmyer, on DC debut, got an early reprieve off Mohammad Shami’s bowling. But the right-arm pacer did not have to wait too long to strike, dismissing Hetmyer and Prithvi Shaw in his second over to reduce DC to 13/3 after 4 overs.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant then started rebuilding the innings. The two completed the 50-run partnership in the 12th over before Iyer hit K Gowtham for two sixes in the 13th over to take DC close to 80.

However, the partnership was broken, courtesy debutant Ravi Bishnoi’s maiden IPL wicket, as he dismissed Pant for 31. Shami, who had bowled three overs in the powerplay, then returned into the attack and picked up his third wicket as Iyer perished for 39.

Axar Patel was the next man to get out after Sheldon Cottrell, another IPL debutant, had the DC all-rounder caught behind the wickets. The left-arm pacer added one more wicket to his tally on the final ball of the spell, dismissing R Ashwin.

DC needed something special and Marcus Stoinis delivered to a breathttaking end. The Australian all-rounder went for an all-out attack, hammering 53 off 21 balls, with the help of 7 fours and 3 sixes.

Stoinis was eventually run-out in the final over, but not before he hit 2 fours and as many sixes to take his team to 157/8, bagging him the ‘Man of the Match’, ‘Game changer’ and ‘Super striker’ titles, all in one sweep.

R Ashwin, meanwhile, walked away as the ‘Power player’, all smiles, despite the injury. 

Super Sunday. Super Over. Super Finish!

 [Sourced from IPL]