Match 2 of the Indian Premier League saw the action shift to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium with Delhi Capitals taking on Kings XI Punjab.
Winning the toss, Punjab skipper KL Rahul elected to field first.
Delhi’s innings began with chaos and confusion as a lack of understanding between Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan resulted in the latter being run out in the second over.
Mohammad Shami was causing all kinds of problems for the Delhi batsmen, eventually sending back both Shaw and Shimron Hetmeyer in his second over. Delhi struggling at 13/3 after four overs.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant then brought some order to proceedings and made sure that Delhi did not lose another wicket for the next 10 overs. However, their scoring rate was also nothing to write home about.
Punjab’s Ravi Bishnoi, a 20-year-old leg spinner, made sure he kept Pant in check, allowing him to score only 13 runs off the 12 balls he bowled to him and eventually dismissing Pant for 31 (off 29 balls) in the fourteenth over.
At the other end, Iyer was starting to look dangerous when Rahul brought Shami back into the attack who rewarded his skipper with a wicket right away. Iyer dismissed for 39 off 32 balls, Delhi 87/5 in 14.1 overs.
After 17 overs, Delhi had reached 100/6 and looked like they were heading towards a modest total. That’s when the Marcus Stoinis show began.
The Aussie with the big muscles showed just how much damage his big hitting can cause, smashing 49 runs in the last three overs of the Capitals' innings. Only Virat Kohli and Andre Russell have scored more in the last three overs of an IPL innings.
Stoinis finished with a brilliant 53 off 21 balls with seven fours and three sixes leading Delhi to a very competitive 157/8 in their 20 overs.
KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal began the chase slowly but confidently with the skipper playing the dominant role as Agarwal took time to find his feet.
Nonetheless, Punjab had 30 runs on the board when Rahul fell in the fifth over – dismissed by Sharma for 21 off 19 balls.
If Stoinis provided the excitement and drama in the first innings, it was veteran Ravichandran Ashwin who set pulses raising in the second. Coming on in the sixth over, the spinner took a wicket with his first ball – dismissing Karun Nair.
Four balls later, he sent Nicholas Pooran packing and Punjab were stuttering at 34/3.
But the drama was not over. The last ball of the over saw Ashwin dive to try and save a single resulting in him hurting his left shoulder and leaving the field in immense pain.
Delhi however did not ease up on the pressure. Kagiso Rabada had the dangerous Glenn Maxwell back in the pavilion the very next over, Punjab at 35/4.
Axar Patel made short work of Sarfaraz Khan, dismissing him for 12 at the end of the 10th over. At this stage Punjab needed 103 off 60 balls with just five wickets in hand. At the crease were Agarwal, who had made 13 off 20 and new batsman Krishnappa Gowtham.
That’s when Agarwal finally found his confidence and the shots gradually started flowing from his bat. Axar managed to keep both the batsmen reasonably quiet but Agarwal routinely found the boundary at the other end.
Rabada got rid of Gowtham in the 16th over, dismissing him for 20 – Punjab 101/6.
Agarwal kept the pace going, smacking Sharma and Anrich Nortje to the boundary. He had a stroke of luck in the 19th over when Iyer put a catch down and when it came down to the last over, Punjab needed 13 runs with Stoinis stepping up to bowl.
It began well for the men in red and silver with Agarwal smacking the first ball fr a six. Two balls later, Agarwal tied the scores with a boundary and the match seemed sealed for a Punjab victory.
And that’s when Stoinis unleashed his magic with the ball.
With one left to get off three balls, Stoinis bowled a dot ball.
The penultimate delivery was a wide full-toss and as Agarwal swished at it, he found the only fielder on the boundary, Hetmyer. His innings of 89 off 60 balls brought to an end at the most inopportune moment.
One left to get off the last ball and Chris Jordan hit the low full toss straight to Rabada who pulled off a stunning reflex catch.
The match was tied and the second game of the IPL was headed to a Super Over.
Super Over
Punjab picked Rahul and Pooran as their batsmen for the Super Over while Delhi handed the ball to the ever-reliable Rabada.
The pacer had Rahul back in the hut on the second ball itself, which brought out Maxwell.
However, the Punjab over ended the very next ball as Rabada sent Pooran packing – the batsman out for a duck for the second time in the same match.
Kings XI unable to finish their Super Over, in which teams are only allowed two wickets and also setting the lowest ever Super Over score in the IPL of 2.
Delhi chose Iyer and Pant as their batsmen while Punjab gave the almost impossible task of defending 2 runs to Shami.
It took the Capitals just 3 deliveries (including one wide) to wrap up the match, winning an absolute thriller replete with drama and excitement to make their way onto the points table.
