DD vs KXIP IPL 2018 Match Report: Kings XI top table with spectacular bowling display

Kings XI Punjab KXIP IPL 2018

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) held their nerve to defend a low total of 143 against a struggling Delhi Daredevils (DD) side at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Monday. The win takes Punjab to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) table while leaving Delhi languishing at the bottom. (Check out the updated table here).

Chasing a low total of just 143, Delhi got off to a bad start losing three wickets in the Powerplay overs. A man of the match performance by Ankit Rajpoot at the start of the innings mounted the pressure on the Delhi batsmen as the wickets continued to fall. Iyer and Tewatia later put on a 47 run stand for the sixth wicket but it was too little too late for Delhi. Andrew Tye made the breakthrough for Punjab in the 17^th over when he got the wicket of Tewatia on his very last delivery. A tidy 19^th over by Sran, left Iyer with too much to do in the last over as the game went down to the very last ball.

Having won the toss, Gambhir sent in Punjab to bat first. Liam Plunkett marked his IPL debut scalping three wickets with an economy of just 4.25 as a disciplined bowling effort restricted Kings XI to just 143 in their 20 overs. None of the Kings XI batsmen were able to post big totals as they seemed to miss their big hitter Chris Gayle who was left out of the squad due to injury concerns.

The turning point of the game was when Ashwin gave the ball to Barinder Sran to bowl the penultimate over of the innings. With the Daredevils needing 21 to win from the final 12 deliveries, Sran mopped up the wicket of Plunkett on his very first delivery and gave away just four runs in the over.

The best dismissal of the game came in the eight over when Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled out Rishabh Pant on his very first delivery. He got the ball to spin back beautifully and sent it between bat and pad to dismiss the dangerous batsman.

Shreyas Iyer was the batsman of the match as he kept the Daredevils hopes alive till the very last over. In a game where none of the batsmen were able to cross the 40 run mark, the youngster scored 57 off 45 deliveries and almost got his team across the line.

The bowler of the match was the debutant Liam Plunkett who picked up three wickets at an economy rate of just 4.25. He mixed his deliveries well and the pick of his spell was when he sent the stumps flying to dismiss Mayank Agarwal with a 146 kph delivery.

Ashwin (Kings XI Punjab), "We were more discussing of what to be bowling, rather than who to be bowling. I decided Mujeeb will be bowling the 20th over. I thought Tye was the best bowler on the day. The coach says nothing. If we were serious about winning, this is a game we needed to win. The ball skidded on more trying to get their wickets. They wanted to attack, which fell in our hands."

Gambhir (Delhi Daredevils), "When you lose three wickets in the first six overs, it's always difficult. Avesh bowled well, Shaw is a player for the future. We've got to win seven games. Our bowling was good today, but couldn't cross the line."

Kings XI Punjab next travel to Hyderabad to take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, while Delhi Daredevils next welcome the Kolkata Knight Riders home on Friday.

The win takes KXIP to the top of the table leaving Delhi at the bottom with just two points. Check out the updated table here.