After securing an emphatic win in the Super Over against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, Delhi Capitals will be facing a resurging Kings XI Punjab on Monday at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
The home team also returned to winning ways on Saturdayevening as they chased down Mumbai Indians’ target of 177 runs with 8 wicketsto spare. Whereas, the Delhi Capitals had to secure a Super Over victory afterfaltering towards the end of their chase of 186 runs, which saw Prithvi Shawtop-score with 99 runs off just 55 balls.
However, Delhi Capitals’ skipper Shreyas Iyer, who scored ablistering 43 off 32 balls, believes that his team performed well throughoutthe match, and deserved to win.
“It was a nail-bitinggame but I am very happy with the way the team played. It was a calculatedknock by Prithvi Shaw as well, and the responsibility he took along with theother players like Shikhar Dhawan, was great to see. I am very happy with theperformance of the boys as it was a difficult opposition but we came out ontop,” he said.
Looking forward to the next match against Kings XI Punjab,Shreyas said, “We have only a day’s rest in between and we will be facing aKings XI Punjab side who have also won two matches out of three so we arecurrently level on points. It’s going to be a challenging match against them intheir own backyard but we are looking forward to another win. The boys arereally charged up after the nerve-biting victory against KKR and we are allgelling well together as a unit”.
“I saw the match yesterday and I felt that it was a reallygood wicket to bat on so we will need to think about which combination will bebest suited to this track. We will need to play smart cricket and be good inour approach throughout the 40 overs,” said Iyer when asked on the challengehis team might face when they play in Mohali.
In last season’s corresponding fixture, it was Kings XIPunjab who secured a 6-wicket win as they chased down Delhi’s total of 166/7with seven balls to spare. It was Delhi’s former skipper Gautam Gambhir’s 55off 42 balls which led the team to a respectable total, while Kings XI’s MohitSharma and Mujeeb ur Rahman picked up two wickets each.
In reply, Kings XI got off to a flying start with KL Rahulscoring a quick-fire 51 off 16 balls, while Karun Nair also scored 50 off 33balls. In the end, it was David Miller (24* off 23) and Marcus Stoinis (22* off15) who took their team to the finish line.
The two teams have faced each other on 22 occasions in IPLhistory, with Kings XI Punjab leading with 13 victories to their name, whileDelhi have won the remaining 9 matches.