IPL 9, Match 7: DD v KXIP - 5 Talking Points

Delhi Daredevils have opened their account in a neat and clean fashion; with a clinical win over KXIP at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. Undoubtedly, Amit Mishra proved his worth with some exceptional piece of spin bowling to bamboozle the strong-on-paper Kings XI Punjab batting. Even the Delhi batsmen came good, with Sanju Samson and Quinten de Kock finding some form. Zaheer Khan & Co. will look to build on from here, whereas the KXIP are left to ponder over a lot before the following game.

1. Quiet start:

The KXIP were put into bat on a decent pitch, and the Punjab batsmen started off quietly. Leaving aside Murali Vijay’s harakiri between the wickets they did not suffer any other casualties during the power play overs. After negating Zaheer Khan’s early swing, Punjab started nicking away some boundaries, and finished with a decent 37 on board at the end of the power play overs; majorly thanks to Braithwaite’s 14-run over.

2. Mishra starts off with a bang:

Amit Mishra is perhaps one of the most underrated bowlers in the IPL, but his value as a bowler is unquestionable. The leggie picked up the important Shaun Marsh the very first over of his spell, out spinning him to get him stumped. But Mishra just got better with his second over. Not only did he pick up Miller with a well crafted delivery, he picked up the big hitting Maxwell very cheaply, and suddenly the scorecard read fifty odd runs for the loss of 4 wickets. He also got rid of Manan Vohra who was batting well on 32. Mishi finished with 4 wickets in his 3 overs for 11 runs.

3. DD bowlers tighten the screws, Sahu saves KXIP’s blushes:

Once Mishra started going, the DD looked absolutely lethal. The KXIP batsmen looked without a plan, and their innings began to implode on itself. While the leggie completed a well deserved 4 wicket haul, others chipped in with wickets as well. The batsmen were imploding at the rate of a falling pack of cards, and none of the KXIP batsmen looked to stay at the crease for more than 10 deliveries at a stretch. Pardeep Sahu’s small little cameo of 18 runs eventually lifted KXIP above hundred; helping them post 111, but the total was too underwhelming in decent batting conditions.

4. DD start cautiously:

Small targets are extremely tricky to chase, and KXIP new ball bowlers were on a mission to make things as hard as possible for the home team. After removing Shreyas Iyer for just 3 (a debatable decision), KXIP looked right in the game till the end of power play overs. Some unorthodox rotation of bowlers helped Miller pull one back, but not after power plays. Quinton de Kock showed his worth with some extremely well timed shots off Patel in the 8th over and helped DD ease some nerves as far as the target was concerned.

5. De Kock, Samson guide DD home:

Following QDK’s stroke filled over, Sanji Samson picked up his courage and unleashed his fine array of strokes, after a shaky start. Samson did fall, but not before scoring a decent 33 and taking DD just 12 runs away from the target. Meanwhile, de Kock notched up his fifty and the million dollar baby Pawan Negi took them home with a big six on the second ball that he faced.

How did Twitter react to the game? – Twitter Reactions: Delhi Daredevils open their account with a positive victory