'This win is for Mandy's father' - KXIP pays tribute to Mandeep Singh's late father

The world of cricket is always laced up with courageous stories of high-spirited players who deny saying no in any situation. The latest match of the IPL 2020 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab saw another such gallant story. Mayank Agarwal was not in place with the team due to an injury, and Mandeep Singh, along with KL Rahul, walked up to set the opening stand for Punjab. Not many knew that Mandeep lost his father on the match day.

Despite a huge personal loss, nothing could stop the brave-hearted man to show up for his side. He opened the innings with skipper, and 17 runs off 14 balls from his side. His father, Hardev Singh, was struggling with an illness, and his condition worsened last week. In the same light, the Punjab team was seen sporting black armbands during the match to pay homage to Mandy’s late father.

Though KXIP couldn’t put a decent score on the board as they ended their show on just 126 runs, their brilliant bowling turned tables for them. Nicholas Pooran remained the highest run-getter from their end as he scored 32 off 28. In return, SRH kicked off their chase game well until the KXIP bowling department started turning deadly. Chris Jordan and young Arshdeep Singh picked three wickets each during the death overs, and the momentum just shifted in a while.

KXIP pays tribute to Mandeep Singh’s father

With such heroics in line, 17 runs were required by the SRH side to take the match, but Jordan displayed some dangerous intent. He conceded just three runs in the 19th over and named two dismissals on his credit too. Singh also replicated the heroics of Jordan and picked two wickets in the final over while defending 14 runs for his team. In the end, it was KXIP’s day as they walked away with valuable two points in their bag and dedicated their victory to Mandeep’s father.

KXIP was struggling big time during the start of the season as they managed one victory in seven matches. However, the team has won four matches on the trot and the new Punjab looks like the center of all the appreciation.