Riding on Sam Curran’s half-century, Punjab Kings thrashed Delhi Capitals by four wickets to start their campaign in IPL 2024 with a fine win.
Chasing 175 runs, the Punjab-based outfit crossed the finishing line with four balls remaining. Curran starred with the bat, scoring 63 off 47 balls with the help of six fours and one six. With the batters at the other end falling at regular intervals, Curran stood firm to lead PBKS’ charge with the bat.
Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow departed in the fourth over after adding 34 runs for the first wicket. Prabhsimran Singh (26) and Jitesh Sharma (9) departed in quick succession to leave PBKS reeling at 100 for 4 in the 12th over.
However, Curran and Liam Livingstone did not let DC capitalize on the breakthroughs. They added 67 runs for the fifth wicket before Khaleel Ahmed broke the stand. In the 19th over, the left-arm pacer dismissed Curran and Shashank Singh on successive deliveries but it was too late for a comeback. In the final over, Livingstone finished the game by hitting a six.
Earlier in the game, Abhishek Porel’s fine cameo helped DC recover from a precarious position and post a competitive total of 174 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs.
The likes of David Warner (29), Mitchell Marsh (20), Shai Hope (33) and Rishabh Pant (18) got the starts but none of them could convert their starts into big scores. With Ricky Bhui (3) also failing to do well, DC were reeling at 111 for 5 at one stage.
Tristan Stubbs (5) did not do well either while Axar Patel (21) also failed to stay till the end as DC found themselves seven down for 138 in the 18th over. Even the 160-run mark was looking like a distant dream for DC at that stage. However, Porel came up with a fine knock to guide his team to 174. In the final over of the innings, he slammed Harshal Patel for three fours and two sixes and remained unbeaten on 32 off just 10 balls.
Here is how the fans reacted to the PBKS vs DC game:
Preity Zinta over the moon after the PBKS beat DC by 4 wickets#CricketTwitter #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/LPYgzRxlPu
— Vibhor (@dhotedhulwate) March 23, 2024
Sam Curran to DC bowlers today:#PBKSvDC #PBKSvsDC #PBKS Welcome Back Shikhar Dhawan pic.twitter.com/jTLwvqkx4y
— 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 (@CapXSid) March 23, 2024
𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐚𝐭! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/8CHuUz9DQf
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 23, 2024
Preity Zinta over the moon after the PBKS beat DC by 4 wickets#CricketTwitter #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/LPYgzRxlPu
— Vibhor (@dhotedhulwate) March 23, 2024
PBKS DEFEATED DC BY 4 WICKETS…!!!!
Sam Curran is the star in the run chase, a great start to the IPL 2024 for Dhawan Army.#DCvsPBKS #PBKSvDC pic.twitter.com/EBD8aTcWOx
— Kohli lover 👑 🐐 (@mncmrm004) March 23, 2024
DC and PBKS look like teams who could end up in the bottom of the table.
DC struggled to dominate any part of the game, whereas PBKS couldn’t comfortably beat a below par side with 2 bowlers short.#DCvPBKS #IPL2024live— Football Skeptic (@politicalchels) March 23, 2024
Positive start From PBKS.Except few Overs punjab bowled really well New ground they adopted very well. Dc batsman could not stayed for long after good start.DC were without Shaw,&Nortje may be still injured.Delhi got same middle order problem on going from last season.#DCvsPBKS
— Majestic Tahli (@Tahli1207) March 23, 2024
What a teamwork performance by PBKS, Lessgoooo first win!!! 🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️
— Neon Man (@NeonMan_01) March 23, 2024
Sam Curran to DC bowlers today:#PBKSvDC #PBKSvsDC #PBKS Welcome Back Shikhar Dhawan pic.twitter.com/jTLwvqkx4y
— 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 (@CapXSid) March 23, 2024
DJ played butta bomma which attracted Warner and missed the catch, PBKS rigging the home matches
— Div🦁 (@div_yumm) March 23, 2024
Livingstone dude stinks all across the globe throughout the year but somehow makes sure he turns up for PBKS lmao
— Akif #Shreyasian (@glazedakif) March 23, 2024
Sam Curran should have finished this game after nearly securing it for PBKS. This was his match. Brilliant brilliant knock. 🙌🔥 #PBKSvsDC #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/udGj6Ie2fd
— Ridhima Pathak (@PathakRidhima) March 23, 2024