REBOUND AFFAIR!

KXIP GET BACK TO WINNING WAYS AS POORAN, MAXWELL GUIDE TEAM TO FIVE WICKET WIN OVER DC

Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell played knocks of 53 and 32 respectively as Kings XI Punjab defeated Delhi Capitals by five wickets at the Dubai International Stadium. With this win, KXIP has gone to the fifth position in the points table with 8 points from 10 matches while Delhi Capitals is still at the top of the table with 14 points from 10 matches.

Chasing 165, KXIP got off to a bad start as the side lost skipper KL Rahul ( 15) in the third over of the innings. Spinner Axar Patel provided the much- needed breakthrough to Delhi Capitals. Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal tried to retrieve the innings for KXIP as the duo put on 35 runs for the second wicket. However, Ravichandran Ashwin staged Delhi’s comeback in the sixth over of the innings as both Gayle ( 29) and Agarwal ( 5) lost their wickets, reducing KXIP to 56/ 3. In a spot of bother, Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell got together at the crease to retrieve the innings for KXIP. Both batsmen stitched together a partnership of 69 runs, which saw Pooran bringing up his halfcentury. However, with Punjab just 40 runs away from the target, Delhi Capitals’ got the breakthrough of Pooran and with just 18 runs required, KXIP lost the set batsman Maxwell ( 32) in the 16th over. In the end, Deepak Hooda ( 15*) and James Neesham ( 10*) ensured KXIP does not suffer from any more hiccups and the duo took the side over the line by five wickets with six balls to spare.

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten knock of 106 runs guided Delhi Capitals to 164/ 5 in the allotted twenty overs against KXIP. The left- handed Dhawan also became the first cricketer to score back to back centuries in IPL.