Punjab Kings beats Delhi Capitals; Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar set stage on fire
New Delhi, May 14: Prabhsimran Singh and Harpreet Brar lit up the Arun Jaitley stadium as Punjab Kings defeated Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Prabhsimran hit his first IPL century (103 off 65 balls) to help PBKS reach a competitive total of 167/7. Harpreet Brar then ripped through the DC batting order with 4/30 as PBKS bowlers restricted the host side to 136/8 and won the match by 31 runs.
The loss eliminated Delhi Capitals from the competition, while the triumph lifted PBKS to sixth place in the table. The Delhi Capitals, chasing 168, got off to a quick start thanks to David Warner and Phil Salt. David Warner struck on the first ball, smashing a pull-through mid-wicket for four. He then smacked one through backward point for two consecutive fours.
Phil Salt then settled in, hitting a couple of fours off Harpreet Brar as the partnership totalled 13 off the over. The boundary flow continued, with the duo hitting 11 fours and a six inside the Powerplay to move DC to 65/0 after six overs.
Brar finally provided the breakthrough, coming back strong to clean up Salt (21 off 17).
Warner then hit his 60th IPL fifty off just 23 balls, but he soon saw Mitchell Marsh go at the other end, caught LBW by Rahul Chahar. From then on, everything went sour for the Delhi Capitals.
Rilee Rossouw mistimed his heave straight to deep mid-wicket off Brar, and the home side lost another wicket. Five balls later, the left-arm spinner supplied a game-changing moment when he trapped David Warner (54 off 27) LBW. The DC captain looked it over, but the ball tracker indicated three reds. Axar walked back after being trapped LBW by Rahul Chahar on the next ball.
He, too, requested a review, but the on-field judgement was upheld because the ball had clipped the leg stump - an umpire's call.
Warner then hit his 60th IPL fifty off just 23 balls, but he was soon joined by Mitchell Marsh, who was caught LBW by Rahul Chahar. Everything went wrong for the Delhi Capitals after that.
Rilee Rossouw's throw straight to deep mid-wicket off Brar was mistimed, and the home side lost another wicket. Five balls later, the left-arm spinner provided a game-changing moment by LBWing David Warner (54 off 27). The DC captain examined it, but the ball tracker showed three reds. After getting trapped LBW by Rahul Chahar on the next ball, Axar walked back.
PKBS was 46/3 at the end of the powerplay. Prabhsimran Singh scored 21 points off 20 balls while Sam Curran scored one point off one ball.
Curran and Prabhsimran attempted to contain the damage. They put on a 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket, providing no relief to the struggling PBKS batting.
Prabhsimran hit a stunning fifty from 42 balls. Punjab reached 100 runs in 13.1 overs.
Praveen Dubey dismissed Curran at 20 off 24 balls in 14.4 overs.
Harpreet Brar was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav in the 16.1 over. He only scored two runs. Wickets were falling from one end, but Prabhsimran continued to attack. He scored his maiden IPL century in just 62 balls.
Mukesh Kumar caught Prabhsimran at the leg stump in the penultimate over, ending his magnificent performance. PBKS produced 167/7 in 20 overs when Khaleel Ahmed dismissed Shahrukh Khan in the last over.
- ANI
