Punjab Kings' boom-or-bust batting approach came back to haunt them qualifying for the playoffs after surrendering to the Delhi Capitals by 17 runs in a must-win contest on Monday. Punjab batters dug their own graves with irresponsible shot selection on a slow track at the DY Patil Stadium, as Delhi Capitals rode on pacer Shardul Thakur's impressive four-wicket haul to bolster their chances of qualifying for the top four.
Thakur overcame a lean patch to spearhead the turnaround in Delhi's favor with the twin strikes of Bhanuka Rajapaksha (4) and Shikhar Dhawan (19) within three deliveries, and later came back to remove Punjab's top-scorer Jitesh Sharma (44), and Kagiso Rabada (6).
Delhi's demolition act came in a matter of 15 deliveries as Punjab were reduced from a comfortable 52/1 to a precarious 55/4, before the spin twins Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav paired up to further dent the red and gold brigade's hopes. Anrich Nortje had removed the dangerous Jonny Bairstow (28) early on to disrupt the chase.
Axar and Kuldeep shared four wickets between them to strengthen Delhi's grasp over the contest. While Patel cleaned up skipper Mayank Agarwal (0) and Rishi Dhawan (4), Kuldeep got the key wicket of the in-form Liam Livingstone (3), stumped by the skipper Rishabh Pant, and later Harpreet Brar (1).
Left with the Herculean task of getting Punjab Kings over the line, young Jitesh Sharma showed good resistance but the mounting asking rate eventually got the better of him. Rahul Chahar came up with an unbeaten 25 towards the end.
Earlier, Mitchell Marsh was forced to change gears midway, as he anchored the innings with a steady 48-ball 63 to help Delhi put on 159/7 after a slump. Cruising at over nine runs an over, Delhi initially looked on course for a bigger total but squandered their chances with some needless shots after being comfortably placed at 67/2 at the end of the powerplay.
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