NO side had chased down 189 to win an IPL game at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Having conceded 28 more than the average first-innings score at this venue, Kings XI Punjab needed their batsmen to pull off a heist.
Instead, they sunk to 64 for 5 in the 11th over, with Glenn Maxwell, Eoin Morgan and Hashim Amla all dismissed. From there on, it was a no-contest and Delhi Daredevils won their first home game of the season by 51 runs. (Scores: (Delhi Daredevils 188 for 6 (Billings 55, Anderson 39*) beat Kings XI Punjab 137 for 9 (Miller 24, Morris 3-23) by 51 runs).
Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, did the early damage by removing Manan Vohra and Wriddhiman Saha. Amit Mishra used the Kotla surface well, and got rid of Maxwell for the fourth time in five innings.
The Kings XI captain came in at No. 6 and fell for a duck. The final nail was though was hammered by Corey Anderson, who trapped David Miller lbw for 24 off 28 balls, to go along with a robust cameo earlier in the day. Axar Patel pocketed his highest IPL score of 44, but it was merely academic.
Daredevils have preferred to invest in young Indian batsmen to take charge upfront. Kings XI Punjab have done the same on the bowling front. This was therefore a contest within a contest.
While Karun Nair was snaffled down the leg side for a duck, continuing his wretched form since scoring a Test triple century in December, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant wasted starts. With Daredevils reduced to 120 for 5 in the 16th over, it was left to Chris Morris and Corey Anderson to provide the final flourish.
Until the last five overs, Kings XI had won the battle of the Indian players, with all of Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Varun Aaron, Axar Patel and KC Cariappa among the wickets. But doing half a job is rarely good enough. (ESPN Cricinfo)