Warner’s brisk fifty leads Delhi’s chase

NEW DELHI: Chasing 142, David Warner cracked 25-ball fifty to lead Delhi Daredevils against Kings XI Punjab in their IPL 5 match at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.

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Warner hammered five fours and four sixes to reach his half-century. Warner and Unmukt Chand started off well for Delhi as they added 50 runs in just 37 balls to set the tone for Daredevils.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab bounced back strongly with late heroics by Gurkeerat Singh and Azhar Mahmood as they set the competitive 142-run target for Delhi Daredevils.

Ryan Harris and Praveen Kumar remained unbeaten on 15 and 3 respectively. Harris smacked four and a six as Umesh Yadav conceded 15 runs in the last over.

Gurkeerat played a fine cameo, smashing 26 runs off just 11 balls with the help of fours boundaries and a six to help Punjab achieve 141/8 in 20 overs. Azhar Mahmood also played composed knock of 36, adding 45 runs in 24 balls with Gurkeerat.

Morne Morkel scalped three wickets in the penultimate over of the innings, removing Mahmood, Gurkeerat, Piyush Chawla as he finished with 20/4 to become new holder of Purple Cap.

Kings XI Punjab lost Siddharth Chitnis when Andre Russell broke the crucial 57-run stand between the former and Mahmood. The duo revived Punjab’s innings after losing four quick wickets at the score of 20.

Yadav was on fire, claiming his third wicket to put Kings XI on backfoot early in the game. Yadav sent David Hussey back to the pavilion to get his third scalp.

Paul Valthaty, who got the nod ahead of Nitin Saini, failed to capitalize the chance as he just scored 2 before went back to the pavilion. Morne Morkel scalped the batsman to reduce Punjab 18/3 in just 4.3 overs.

Umesh Yadav struck in his successive overs to remove Adam Gilchrist and Mandeep Singh and give Kings XI Punjab early jolts.

Earlier, Delhi Daredevils stand-in skipper Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and opted to bowl against Kings XI Punjab in the 69th match of the tournament.

Regular Delhi skipper Virender Sehwag is still unwell and will miss second match in row. Delhi brought back Morne Morkel in place of Ross Taylor, who smashed 55 runs off 26 balls.

Nitin Saini has made the way for Paul Valthaty in Punjab’s playing eleven.

For Punjab, it might become a case of so near yet so far. After their crucial victory over Chennai, even if they stun the table-toppers Delhi on Saturday in their final league match, they may not be able to make it to the playoffs. That is because of their negative run-rate.

As for Delhi, they are assured of at least a second spot. For them, the result of their last game will not matter much. But they would like to go into the playoffs (Qualifier 1 in Pune on May 22) with a win behind them and as the top-placed team, rather than with two successive defeats, after losing to Bangalore at home on Thursday night.

Teams:

Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist, Mandeep Singh, Paul Valthaty, David Hussey, Azhar Mahmood, Gurkeerat Singh, Siddharth Chitnis, Piyush Chawla, Ryan Harris, Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana

Delhi Daredevils: David Warner, Unmukt Chand, Mahela Jayawardene, Naman Ojha, Y Venugopal Rao, Irfan Pathan, Andre Russell, Pawan Negi, Varun Aaron, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav