Pune: A responsible innings of 55 runs by Yuvraj Singh and some aggressive hitting from Mayank Agarwal (68) helped Delhi Daredevils register their first win of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beating Kings XI Punjab by five wickets at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday.
This was the Daredevils’ first win in 12 matches in the competition and propelled them to the fourth spot in the standings with 2 points from three matches. Punjab are in fifth with one win from three matches.
Chasing 166, Daredevils did not get a brisk start and when they lost skipper Jean Paul Duminy (21) in the eighth over with the score at 53, things looked bleak.
But Yuvraj took responsibility from thereon.
He forged an innings-resurrecting 106-run third-wicket partnership with Agarwal that brought the Daredevils close to their target and paved the way to victory off the penultimate ball of the match.
The pair engaged in some lusty hitting when they came closer to the target but both got out when Daredevils could smel victory.
In the end it was just a minor blip, though they would have liked to win more comfortably.
Earlier, experienced opener Virender Sehwag (47) and Wriddhiman Saha (39) scored the bulk of the Kings XI total.
The second-wicket partnership saw some sensible hitting from Sehwag and Saha to build a strong platform for Punjab to capitalise in the death overs.
But as they tried to up the ante, seasoned leg-spinner Amit Mishra (3/41) struck to send Saha back to the pavilion.
That did not deter Sehwag, who launched the Daredevils skipper for a huge six over mid-wicket but perished off the next ball trying to hoick him again, only managing to offer a catch in the deep.
The two quick dismissals brought South African David Miller (5) and Australian Glenn Maxwell to the crease.
Maxwell (15) struck two huge sixes but was soon taking the long walk back after mistiming a similar big shot. Miller departed soon after and Daredevils by then had lost the momentum in their bid to score rapidly. They took only three runs off the last over bowled by South African leggie Imran Tahir (3/43).
