Delhi Capitals have added some spice to the top two race as they defeated Punjab Kings by 6 wickets in Jaipur on Saturday, May 24. Sameer Rizvi’s 58 off 25 balls was the difference in the end for Delhi, as Punjab wasted their chance to go to the top of the table and edge closer to a top two finish.

Rizvi and Karun Nair’s 44 were crucial on a track that helped the batters a lot as Delhi ended their campaign with a win as they ended a four-match losing streak. This fixture was initially played in Dharamshala on May 8 when the game had to be stopped due to the increasing cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. The toss was won by DC in Jaipur amidst not a lot of fanfare on the night. It seemed like the energy was a bit low at the Sawai Mansingh stadium for the match, as RR were already out and the game didn’t have a lot of significance for Delhi.

The Capitals tasted some early success as Priyansh Arya was dismissed early by Mustafizur Rahman. Josh Inglis and Prabhsimran would launch a counter-attack against Delhi as they ensured that PBKS’ run-rate remained high. Inglis scored 32 off 12 balls and looked to be on the offensive as the duo added 47 runs before Vipraj Nigam dismissed the Aussie wicketkeeper.

Prabhsimran was joined by Shreyas, who started with a boundary. Prabhsimran was a bit subdued by DC but Kuldeep Yadav gave him a gift in the form of a no-ball and the PBKS batter ensured that the free hit went out of the park. He would get a boundary off Viraj before the DC bowler had his revenge off the next ball. This was a sign for Shreyas to change gears and he greeted Kuldeep with a six in the next over. While Vipraj was able to keep the PBKS batters in check, the rest of the bowlers failed to hit the mark.

Kuldeep conceded 36 off his 3 overs with Shreyas taking him on. Mukesh dismissed Nehal Wadhera, but Shreyas continued his fine form with a couple of boundaries. He got a lucky break twice when he was saved by DRS after being given out off the bowling of Mohit Sharma. He was then saved again as Kuldeep dropped a tough chance.

Shashank Singh’s stay was a very brief one as Stoinis came in to change the game. A wayward 17th over from Mukesh Kumar changed things for Punjab as the Aussie all-rounder hit two sixes and boundary off the Delhi pacer before Shreyas hit a four to get to his fifty.

Stoinis got lucky as Mohit dropped a sitter before Kuldeep finally dismissed Shreyas for 53 off 34 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai also fell in the same over but by then, Stoinis got a good measure of things in the middle. The all-rounder, who revealed he battled covid and returned for the tournament, took apart Mohit for 22 off the 19th over. Mustafizur limited the damage in the final over but PBKS ended up with 206 runs in the first innings.

The Delhi innings was off to a strong start as KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis scored 50 off just five overs, with the former scoring 35 off 21 balls. Jansen dismissed Rahul in the final over of powerplay but Karun came in and hit the pacer for a six as 61 came off the first six.

However, Du Plessis’ wicket in the next over put the breaks on the scoring a bit and started to get Punjab into the contest. Sediqullah Atal, who was making his IPL debut, showed promise and started with a six off Jansen but the scoring was being put under check by Punjab.

Atal fell at the start of the 11th over as Pravin Dubey made a mark with the ball. Karun, who was back in the Indian team after 3000 days, hit four boundaries on the trot to get the momentum back into the innings. Sameer Rizvi provided good support from the other end as he also started to take on the bowlers.

The 14th over of Jansen went for 18 runs as Karun and Rizvi ensured we were set for a grand finish. Harpreet Brar was brought back into the attack and was hit for a boundary by Karun. However, the PBKS spinner got the last laugh as he cleaned up for Karun.

This brought Stubbs to the middle but Rizvi continued to lead the charge from the other end. The last over from Brar went for 14 runs as DC needed 34 off the last three. Rizvi got a couple of boundaries off Omarzai to make the equation 22 off 12 balls.

Shreyas turned to Arshdeep for the penultimate over and Rizvi picked up the knuckleball from the pacer and deposited it into the stands and got to his fifty in 22 balls. A boundary from Stubbs made the equation to be in favor of Delhi as Stoinis bowled the final over. However, a six from Rizvi ended the game for Delhi, who were able to end on a high after a season that promised a lot.

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