Our first match in the VIVO IPL 2018 against Kings XI Punjab marked Gautam Gambhir’s return to his home turf after seven years - he last played for DD in 2010. Though we ended up on the losing side, the positives from the game will further propel our team to do well in the upcoming matches.
In the first innings, Punjab put us in to bat after winning the toss. The highlights were Gambhir’s fifty and the impressive debut of Afghanistan’s teenage sensation, Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The 17-year old spinner troubled the DD batsmen, and completed his spell with figures of 2/28.
We were in a spot of bother having lost Munro and Iyer cheaply early in the innings. But, Gauti played the role of an anchor, and his fine fifty kept the scoreboard ticking. Gambhir reached his fifty off 36 balls, his 36th in the IPL. During the course of his innings, he also equaled David Warner’s record for the most number of fifties in the IPL. Rishabh Pant’s and Chiris Morris’ cameos of 28 (13) and 27* (16) respectively, helped us set Punjab a decent target of 167.
Coming in to bat in the second half of the game, Punjab’s batsmen got off to a flyer, courtesy of KL Rahul. His clean hitting in the powerplay overs led to him scoring the fastest fifty in the history of the VIVO IPL. At the end of the sixth over, they were 72 for the loss of two wickets. Karnataka batsman Karun Nair also chipped in with a half-century against his former team.
After the initial assault from Punjab, our bowlers managed to keep the middle-overs quiet. However, a lot of damage had already been done and the Kings XI Punjab cruised to a six-wicket win.
All in all, it was only game one and we shouldn’t read too much into that. There were quite a few positives. There’s a long way to go and Gambhir’s fine form will be crucial. Rishabh Pant too showed shades of what he is capable of with a quickfire cameo. Moreover, the batting line-up will be bolstered with the arrival of The Big Show, Glenn Maxwell!
With 13 games to go, we shouldn’t take this first loss too hard. Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting are experienced leaders, and they will make sure to let the team know what needs to be done to up their performances next time around.
Brief Scores: DD 166/7 in 20 overs (Gautam Gambhir 55 off 42, Rishabh Pant 28 off 13); Kings XI Punjab 167/4 in 18.5 overs (KL Rahul 51 off 16, Karun Nair 50 off 33)
Our first match in the VIVO IPL 2018 against Kings XI Punjab marked Gautam Gambhir’s return to his home turf after seven years - he last played for DD in 2010. Though we ended up on the losing side, the positives from the game will further propel our team to do well in the upcoming matches.
In the first innings, Punjab put us in to bat after winning the toss. The highlights were Gambhir’s fifty and the impressive debut of Afghanistan’s teenage sensation, Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The 17-year old spinner troubled the DD batsmen, and completed his spell with figures of 2/28.
We were in a spot of bother having lost Munro and Iyer cheaply early in the innings. But, Gauti played the role of an anchor, and his fine fifty kept the scoreboard ticking. Gambhir reached his fifty off 36 balls, his 36th in the IPL. During the course of his innings, he also equaled David Warner’s record for the most number of fifties in the IPL. Rishabh Pant’s and Chiris Morris’ cameos of 28 (13) and 27* (16) respectively, helped us set Punjab a decent target of 167.
Coming in to bat in the second half of the game, Punjab’s batsmen got off to a flyer, courtesy of KL Rahul. His clean hitting in the powerplay overs led to him scoring the fastest fifty in the history of the VIVO IPL. At the end of the sixth over, they were 72 for the loss of two wickets. Karnataka batsman Karun Nair also chipped in with a half-century against his former team.
After the initial assault from Punjab, our bowlers managed to keep the middle-overs quiet. However, a lot of damage had already been done and the Kings XI Punjab cruised to a six-wicket win.
All in all, it was only game one and we shouldn’t read too much into that. There were quite a few positives. There’s a long way to go and Gambhir’s fine form will be crucial. Rishabh Pant too showed shades of what he is capable of with a quickfire cameo. Moreover, the batting line-up will be bolstered with the arrival of The Big Show, Glenn Maxwell!
With 13 games to go, we shouldn’t take this first loss too hard. Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting are experienced leaders, and they will make sure to let the team know what needs to be done to up their performances next time around.
Brief Scores: DD 166/7 in 20 overs (Gautam Gambhir 55 off 42, Rishabh Pant 28 off 13); Kings XI Punjab 167/4 in 18.5 overs (KL Rahul 51 off 16, Karun Nair 50 off 33)
