Match Preview:
After an interesting show in the opening clash between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the action will now move forward to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The second match of the tournament will be a contest between two teams who have never won the trophy - Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab. Despite reaching the play-offs, both the teams fail to turn up at the crucial stages of the tournament.
But, this year could be different as both teams will be led by young captains – KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.
It will be interesting to see how they put their teams out there and also who they pick.
Match Squads:
Squads:
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Mohit Sharma, Alex Carey, Avesh Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Anrich Nortje, Daniel Sams, Lalit Yadav, Keemo Paul
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul(w/c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Mandeep Singh, James Neesham, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chris Jordan, Karun Nair, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham, Sheldon Cottrell, Hardus Viljoen, Ishan Porel, Sarfaraz Khan, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh, Simran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ravi Bishnoi
Starting XI Prediction:
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (W), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Anrich Nortje, Keemo Paul, Kagiso Rabada
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (C & WK), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Glenn Maxwell, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, K Gowtham, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ravi Bishnoi
Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab Dream XI:
Shikhar Dhawan, Chris Gayle, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, KL Rahul, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada
Pitch report:
The Dubai pitch has a good crass covering which Ricky Ponting believes may edge the advantage for seamers in the initial phase.
Toss:
Kings XI Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl.
Starting XI:
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul(C), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran(WK), Krishnappa Gowtham, Chris Jordan, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami
Kings XI Punjab: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer(C), Rishabh Pant(WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Mohit Sharma
The game begins!
Prithvi Shaw and Dhawan arrive at the crease with Shaw taking the strike. Sheldon Cottrell will open KXIP's attack.
Score after 5 overs - DC 23/3
Not the best start for Delhi Capitals. Lost crucial hitters early on, and unable to find their footing in the game.
Kings XI Punjab, meanwhile, have the edge in the game. Mohammed Shami picked up two early wickets with his impressive bowling.
Score after 10 overs - DC 49/3
Rishabh Pant and skipper Shreyas Iyer hold the wickets for Delhi Capitals. But the team needs runs. A half-century mark at 10 overs is below par keeping in mind Punjab's explosive batting line-up.
Score after 15 overs - DC 93/5
Looks really bad for Delhi Capitals after the loss of two more wickets - Pant and Iyer. A respectable total looks really far unless Marcus Stoinis has some tricks up his sleeve.
KXIP, meanwhile, have another gem in their attacking lineup - Ravi Bishnoi. Superb figures in his IPL debut.
End of DC's innings - KXIP need 158 runs to win
We said it! Delhi Capitals would have been in deep trouble if it was not for Marcus Stoinis and his impressive batting figures towards the end. Stoinis smashed 53 off 21 balls to help DC reach a respectable total of 157.
Now, KXIP need 158 runs to win, and with an explosive batting lineup, that does not seem hard. But it is vital for KL Rahul and Co not to give away wickets early on, as was the case for Shreyas Iyer's side.
Score after 5 overs - KXIP 33/1, need 125 in 90 balls
A decent start for Punjab. Despite skipper KL Rahul's dismissal, KXIP has a decent lineup. However, they should be vary of Delhi's attacking lineup which consists of Ravichandran Ashwin and Kagiso Rabada among others.
Score after 10 overs - KXIP 55/5, need 103 in 60 balls
Things seem to have gone downhill for KXIP after quick fall of wickets. The target is now harder than expected, unless Punjab too have a Stoinis type of trick up their sleeves!
DC, meanwhile, have lost the services of R Ashwin due to a shoulder injury. However, the spinner picked two crucial wickets in his over before he was helped off the field by the physio.
Score after 15 overs - KXIP 98/6, need 60 in 30 balls
All eyes on Mayank Agarwal. The Punjab batsman has a huge responsibility of carrying his side to victory.
DC, meanwhile, have made bad fielding errors. The side has given away boundaries due to their sloppy fielding.
Score after 20 overs - KXIP 157/8, match headed to super over
AND SUPER OVER IT IS! What a crazy start to the 13th edition of the IPL. Complete madness. Both the sides pulled off a Stoinis and an Agarwal.
Super over 1 - Punjab's Rahul and Pooran coming out to bat, DC's Rabada to attack
Ball 1: Rabada to Rahul - 2 runs (2/0)
Ball 2: Rabada to Rahul - WICKET!!! c. Axar Patel b. Rabada 2(2)
Ball 3: Rabada to Pooran - WICKET!!! Pooran b. Rabada 0(1)
Super over 2 - Pant and Iyer come to the crease to try and pull a winner for DC, Punjab's Shami to attack
A half super-over, Punjab lose grip as Mohammed Shami now has to defend a target of 3 runs!
Ball 1: Shami to Pant - No run (0/0)
Ball 2: Shami to Pant - WIDE (1/0)
Ball 2: Shami to Pant - 2 runs (3/0)
Delhi Capitals beat Kings XI Punjab in the Super-Over!
Shreyas Iyer and Co got away with an easy win in the super-over against Kings XI Punjab.
Mayank Agarwal's brilliant effort was left in vain as his side failed to collect a run in 3 deliveries which ultimately led to a super-over. In the super-over, KL Rahul and Pooran made the lowest a team has made in the IPL super-over history (2).
"It is bittersweet. If at the end of 10 overs, if you had said this match is going to a Super-over, I would have taken it. It's still our first game, so lots of learning. Mayank was unbelievable and to get a game that close was magical. He's been doing well in Tests and to get the game that close again brings a lot of confidence in the group," said KL Rahul, skipper of the losing side.
Kagiso Rabada, meanwhile, who along with Marcus Stoinis pulled Delhi Capitals right back in the game, said: "There will always be nerves no matter how long I play when things get tight. Lucky that it came off today. It just depends what's working for me on the day and some days you just get a feel for what might work and today I was mixing the lengths up and really glad it worked. Sometimes it works and sometimes it won't."
Delhi Capitals have won a match in super-overs twice, and Rabada was the super-bowler in both the games.
Stoinis, who put up impressive figures in batting and bowling both, was elected man of the match. "It's a weird game, sometimes the luck goes your way, but it's easy to become the villain from the hero. So it's important to enjoy the good days. I try to close down the areas where the bowlers can bowl, and it worked today. It's important to feed off everyone's energy," he said.
End of the day's play!
A cracking second fixture in the IPL. If we thought this was fun, we should wait for the third fixture where India skipper Virat Kohli will lead Royal Challengers Bangalore against David Warner's SunRisers Hyderabad.
Fingers crossed for another nail biting contest when two of the cricket greats come face-to-face!
