Punjab Kings Triumph Over Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 Opener Despite Rishabh Pant's Return
Sam Curran's Heroics Lead Punjab to Victory, Capitals Struggle with Bowling Shortage
After making his cricket comeback, Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals lost their opening IPL 2024 encounter to Punjab Kings by a margin of four wickets.
After Punjab was assigned a target of 175 runs, they won thanks to the counterattacking half-century of England all-rounder Sam Curran. Liam Livingstone, a fellow countryman, provided outstanding support for Curran as he raced to a 47-ball 63. With four balls remaining, Punjab completed the chase.
Ishant Sharma, the veteran pacer, departed the field after hurting his ankle while fielding, leaving the Capitals bowling with just one bowler for the majority of their bowling innings. Along with being able to bowl two overs, Ishant had already removed opposing skipper Shikhar Dhawan from the game.
After the defeat, Pant, who was only able to score eighteen before being replaced, lamented Ishant's injury. "We didn't have enough extra bowling. We were one bowler short, so we may have had a par score, but there's not much we can do about it. The captain of the Capitals stated, "It's never good to be one bowler short." Pant added that he was glad to be back playing cricket despite feeling "quite nervous" when he went out to bat.
Abhishek Porel, who batted at No. 9 and top-scored for his team with an undefeated 32 off just 10 balls, helped the Capitals' innings.
Punjab Kings started their pursuit with a strong showing from captain Dhawan (22 off 16 balls). Prabhsimran Singh, an impact player, too scored a quick 26 off just 17 balls. Afterwards, the Capitals lost the match to Curran and Livingstone.
Kuldeep Yadav, who took 2/20 in four overs, was the top bowler for the Capitals.
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