IPL 2018: Sportzwiki’s Man of the Match – Liam Plunkett
Nov 26, 2018 at 12:36 PM
Playing his first game of the IPL, Liam Plunkett was on the money from the very start.
The Delhi Daredevils were desperate for a win and playing their first game at Kotla this season; they had every hope.
Sadly, it didn’t turn out as per plan, as Kings XI Punjab kept up with their brilliant form in the ongoing season, to clinch a last-over win.
The visitors posted 143 runs on the board. The Delhi bowlers did a good job and their skipper Gautam Gambhir too, appreciated the effort.
Plunkett impresses at Kotla
Plunkett scalped three wickets. He got Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and the in-form KL Rahul. The seasoned English bowler conceded just 17 runs off his four overs. Delhi though, couldn’t make good use of the finish, as they struggled to put runs on the board.
Gambhir got dismissed for four off 13 balls, and the ‘big-show’ Glenn Maxwell departed in no time.
Prithvi Shaw showed glimpses of what he is capable of. Opening the batting, Shaw hit four boundaries and ran hard between the wicket before being bowled by Ankit Rajpoot.
Shreyas Iyer, who didn’t fire in the ongoing season, came good and played a good hand of 57. He hit five fours and a six but failed to hit a boundary in the last ball to snatch a win.
It seemed like Delhi batted with only gears at the extreme ends. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Barinder Sran, who had an average day with the ball overall, bowled an impressive 19th over to hand Punjab the advantage. Sran was expensive, going for over 11 runs per over but bowled a tight last over, where he conceded just four runs to bring the equation down to 17 off six balls.
For Delhi, there are many positives to take for, but the franchise is still chasing a win, sitting at the bottom of the table.