Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab – Indian Premier League 5 – Match Recap – Daredevils make it into playoffs with 5-wicket win over Kings XI
The Delhi Daredevils became the first team in the ongoing Indian Premier League season to qualify for the tournament playoffs as they claimed a 5-wicket victory over the Kings XI http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 on May 15.
The Kings XI won the toss and chose to bat, with Mandeep Singh (21) and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Simon-James-Marshall-c90362 caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Naman
Ojha in the 4th over. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mandeep-Singh-c74122, the Kings XI’s highest run-scorer this season, was sent back to the pavilion by Aaron in the 6th over, caught out by skipper Virender Sehwag at short midwicket.
Skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Roger-Kirshaw-Pierson-c42135 it out at the crease – his unbeaten 40 proved to be the anchor of the innings, but the remaining Kings XI batsmen were unable to accompany their captain for any significant partnerships.
The Daredevils’ pace attack proved too much for their opponents’ batsmen, and Aaron’s performance was followed up brilliantly by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nitin-Saini-c79746 managed just 15 runs before he fell prey to the 24-year-old medium-pacer in the
8th over, with the Kings XI at 54 for 3.
The middle and lower order collapse continued with the dismissal of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Azhar-Mahmood-c1116 (9), who has been fairly consistent for the Kings XI so far, became Yadav’s
second victim in the 12th over, and Gurkeerat Singh, star of the Kings XI’s previous victory over the Deccan Chargers, contributed a meagre 8 before Negi swooped in to claim his wicket in the 13th over.
Yadav rounded off his assault with the dismissal of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/P-Kumar-c2143’s (8) departure in the 18th over,
via run out, the visitors ultimately finished by setting their opponents a modest 137-run chase.
The Daredevils combined tight fielding with an intense bowling attack, with Yadav (4-0-21-3) and Aaron (4-0-19-2) remaining the most prominent wicket-takers. Two batsmen were dismissed via run outs, and skipper Sehwag was in fine form, taking two vital catches.
The Daredevils’ suffered an initial set-back owing to a top-order collapse, courtesy an early burst by Kings XI medium-pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DA-Warner-c1301 was dismissed on 14 by Praveen Kumar, and Awana followed it up with three crucial wickets.
He was cleaned up http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LRPL-Taylor-c1849 on duck, and the early dismissals
left the Daredevils at 37 for 4 by the end of the 6th over.
Luckily, the Daredevils had http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Irfan-Pathan-c1601 (19), which got
the Daredevils safely to 140 with an over to spare.
Awana’s valiant 3 for 22, in addition to the contributions of Kumar (4-0-28-1) and Chawla (4-1-33-1) were not enough to get the Kings XI their much needed victory. With only two matches remaining in their schedule before the next stage of the tournament
kick off on May 22, the team will need to win both of the remaining games, and even then their chances to qualify for a place in the playoffs depends on net run-rate.
The Daredevils, however, rode to an easy victory and secured a place in the playoffs, with Umesh Yadav winning the Player of the Match award for his vital 3-wicket haul. The Daredevils next match is due to be played against the Royal Challengers Bangalore
on May 17, and another victory will ensure that they secure the top position in the tournament.
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