Mishra, de Kock star as Delhi thrash Punjab for first win

A mesmerising Amit Mishra spell and a gritty Quinton de Kock half-century have powered Delhi Daredevils to a crushing eight wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League.

Sports Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 15 April 2016, 10:35 PM
Updated : 15 April 2016, 10:36 PM

After Delhi opted to field on Friday, Mishra came into the attack in the seventh over and rocked the Punjab innings with 4-11 in 3 overs.

The 33-year-old Indian spinner tore through the Punjab top order in a quick burst before the Kings XI limped to 111-9.

Opener de Kock (59 not out) led his team in their chase, sharing a 64-ball 91-run stand with Sanju Samson (33) for the second wicket.

They coasted to the win with 6.3 overs and eight wickets to spare as the South African hammered nine fours and a six facing 42 deliveries.

It was Delhi's first win in two matches, while Punjab suffered their second loss on the trot.

Punjab struggled for momentum from the outset.

Skipper Zaheer Khan dropped Manan Vohra at point in the second over but the batsmen opted for a third. A relay throw caught Murali Vijay short of the crease.

Even though Zaheer looked out of sorts in the outfield, the veteran left-arm seamer kept a tight leash on the batsmen.

He conceded just 14 runs in his four overs for a wicket.

When Mishra started his spell, the team from Punjab were 37 for one in six overs before he left them tottering on 59 for five in 11 overs at the end of his three-over burst.

He snared the wickets of Shaun Marsh (13), David Miller (9), Glenn Maxwell (0) and Vohra (32).

Mishra struck with his first delivery as Marsh danced down the track but missed the line before being stumped by de Kock.

He dealt a double blow in his second over, removing Punjab captain Miller with a leg-before decision, and dangerous Maxwell, who holed out at long-off.

Punjab lost their way when set batsman Vohra was outfoxed by a sharp googly from Mishra that crashed into the legstump.

The other batsmen pushed on but the early damage was irreparable. Spinner Jayant Yadav and fast bowler Chris Morris chipped in with a wicket each.

Delhi looked comfortable during the chase, thanks to the Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman. But he did survive some nervy moments early on.

Having lost his partner Shreyas Iyer (3) early, he was dropped off left-arm spinner Axar Patel at square leg by Vijay on seven.

Delhi managed just 28 runs in the powerplay before de Kock forged a partnership with Samson.

The duo grew in confidence and began to score at a brisk rate, milking boundaries on either side of the wicket.

Samson then went into overdrive when he hit leg-spinner Pradeep Sahu for a huge six, before smashing Maxwell for back-to-back boundaries as Delhi reached 79-1 in 11 overs.

De Kock then joined the party clubbing Mitchell Johnson for two fours and a huge six, which brought up the South African's fifty off 38 deliveries.

Patel took out Samson 12 runs shy of the target but de Kock and Pawan Negi (8) sauntered off to the win.