Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone had failed to live up to their high price tags last season. But on Saturday, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium, the two Englishmen showed their value with a game-changing partnership which saw Punjab Kings beat Delhi Capitals by four wickets.
Curran enjoyed a huge slice of luck on 34 when Tristan Stubbs dropped him at long-on off Kuldeep Yadav. He made the Capitals pay for the let-off as he, along with Livingstone (38 not out), added 67 runs for the fifth wicket off seven overs to put Punjab on the road to victory.
Capitals’ shoddy work on the field again allowed the match to slip through its hands as David Warner dropped Harpreet Brar off Khaleel Ahmed after the medium pacer had taken two quick wickets to give his side a glimmer of hope.
Capitals was also a bowler short after Ishant Sharma suffered an ankle injury and Livingstone deposited Sumit Kumar over long on to signal the win for his side.
Earlier, impact player Abishek Porel made a stunning influence on the contest as he muscled his way to a 10-ball unbeaten 32 that gave the much-needed impetus to Capitals’ innings.
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His late assault against the Kings’ death-bowling specialist Harshal Patel enabled the Capitals to finish at a competitive total of 174 for nine.
However, Rishabh Pant’s much-anticipated comeback ended in a whimper. The Capitals’ captain’s muscle memory was perfect but lacked fluency. He tired playing the unorthodox shots too early in the innings and fell to a ramp shot which ended in the hands of Jonny Bairstow at backward point.
After being put in to bat, Capitals’ openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh clattered boundaries off erring Kings’ pace bowlers to give their side a brisk start.
However, Arshdeep Singh induced a false shot from Marsh to draw first blood. Warner continued to attack and struck Kagiso Rabada for a six and a boundary to bring up the fifty for his side in the fifth over. Kings’ Harpreet Brar then choked the flow of runs with a teasing spell.
Rabada and Harshal picked up crucial wickets as Capitals lost their way until Porel’s late flourish took them to a challenging total.
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