Navi Mumbai, May 16: Spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav were inspirational in the middle overs even as Shardul Thakur complemented the duo with a career-best IPL figures as Delhi Capitals inched closer towards play-off qualifications beating Punjab Kings by 17 runs in an IPL match on Monday.
Invited to bat, DC posted 159 for 7 courtesy Mitchell Marsh’s 48-ball 63 and then restricted Punjab to 142 for 9. Thakur (4/36), Axar (2/14) and Kuldeep (2/14) shared eight wickets among them while Anrich Nortje got the important wicket of Jonny Bairstow.
With this win, DC jumped a place to fourth with 14 points from 13 matches. Royal Challengers Bangalore (14 from 13 matches) have same points as DC but they were pushed down to fifth spot as they have -0.323 NRR compared +0.255 of Delhi.
Punjab, who remained at seventh spot with 12 points from 13 matches, are virtually out of reckoning for a play-offs berth as they also have a -0.043 net run rate.
Chasing 160 for a win, Punjab suffered a batting collapse after a good start. Jitesh Sharma (44 of 34 balls) and Rahul Chahar (25 not out off 24 balls) made a late fight back with a 41-run stand for the eighth wicket but that proved too little too late.
Punjab began on a promising note but a collapse began as five Punjab batsmen went back to the hut one after the other.
Bairstow (28 off 15 balls) fell to Nortje in the fourth over before Shradul Thakur took two wickets – Bhanuka Rajapaksa (4) and Shikhar Dhawan (19) – in three balls in the sixth over to change the complexion of the game.
Punjab were 54/3 at the end of powerplay and three balls later Axar Patel claimed his 100th IPL wicket – that of Punjab captain Mayank Agarwal’s scalp .
Kuldeep returned for his second over to dismiss Harpreet Bar (1). It was all over for Punjab by then as they were reduced to 68 for 6 at the halfway mark. Punjab needed 39 off the final three overs but David Warner pulled off a fine catch at long off to dismiss Jitesh ended the game in favour of DC.
Earlier, Arshdeep Singh and Livingstone took three-wickets each as Punjab restricted Delhi to 159/7. (PTI)
