Liam Plunkett: ‘Need one win to set ball rolling for DD’

Delhi Daredevils came, agonisingly, close to breaking its run of reverses, only to lose by four runs to Kings XI Punjab, at the Ferozeshah Kotla, on Monday night.

Drafted in for the injured Kagiso Rabada, Liam Plunkett (above) made an instant impression, on his IPL debut.

Down but not out. That’s what pacer Liam Plunkett tried to convey while summing up the mood in the Delhi Daredevils camp, after suffering, yet, another loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Delhi Daredevils came, agonisingly, close to breaking its run of reverses, only to lose by four runs to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), at the Ferozeshah Kotla, on Monday night.

“It was really disappointing to lose such a close game. I think we should have won this match. It is really frustrating, for all of us. It was a match we could have won... We are really disappointed,” Plunkett said, at the post-match press conference.

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Having lost five out of its six matches, bottom-placed Daredevils host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) next, on Friday. “We will still believe in ourselves and we know we can win. It is a matter of one win to set the ball rolling. I think we can do it, in our next match,” said Plunkett.

Drafted in for the injured Kagiso Rabada, the Englishman made an instant impression, on his IPL debut, returning with impressive figures of 3/17, in four overs.

“It was a great feeling to finally get a game, in the IPL. I wanted to perform well for the side and I am extremely happy that I was able to take crucial wickets on my debut, in the competition," he said.

“From the beginning, we knew that the wicket will assist bowlers and this was really similar to the turf I played on, during the 2016 ICC World T20. I played three games for England at this venue and that experience helped me in getting accustomed to the situation,” said Plunkett.

Kings XI Punjab’s Andrew Tye was relieved after the team managed to prevail in a game, which went down to the last ball. “Defending a low total is not always easy, but we bowled tightly to win the game,” the Australian pacer said.

Tye said that it was a conscious decision to have young off-spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman bowl the last over, from which Delhi needed 17 for a win.

“The way (Shreyas) Iyer and (Rahul) Tewatia were batting, we needed to break the partnership. So, I bowled the 18th over and our young spinner bowled the final over. Shreyas was the man, who could have done the job, especially the way he was batting. However, we managed to get him out and luckily, Mujeeb did the job for us,” Tye, who picked up two wickets, added.