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The Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 31 runs in yesterday’s 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Following the loss, DC became the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs race.
Sent into bat after losing the toss, Punjab put up 167/7 on the board, built around opener Prabhsimran Singh’s brilliant 103 off 65 balls. In the chase, Delhi’s openers raced away to 69 inside seven overs. However, spinners Harpreet Brar (4/30) and Rahul Chahar (2/16) combined to restrict the chasing side to 136/8.
As evident from the scorecard, PBKS’ innings was all about Prabhsimran’s stunning effort even as DC kept picking wickets at the other end. The aggressive opener slammed 10 fours and six sixes before being dismissed in the penultimate over, trying to scoop Mukesh Kumar.
Punjab lost skipper Shikhar Dhawan (7) in the second over as he flicked Ishant Sharma to deep square leg. The seasoned pacer also knocked over Liam Livingstone (4), who charged the pacer and missed his swipe. Axar Patel then foxed Jitesh Sharma (5) and cleaned him up, leaving Punjab in trouble at 45/3.
Prabhsimran and Sam Curran (20 off 24) added a significant 72 runs for the fourth wicket. After a few quiet overs, Prabhsimran took on Mitchell Marsh and slapped him for two sixes and a four off consecutive deliveries.
The PBKS opener could have been dismissed on 68, but Rilee Rossouw dropped a chance at deep backward square leg off Praveen Dubey’s bowling. There was some respite for Delhi as Curran perished off the very next delivery, looking to break the shackles.
Prabhsimran reached his maiden IPL hundred with consecutive fours off Khaleel Ahmed in the 18th over. Delhi, though, would have been satisfied to restrict Punjab to under 170.
David Warner’s blitz in vain
Chasing 168, DC skipper David Warner hammered a terrific 54 off 27 balls. However, his knock went in vain as Punjab’s spinners exercised their dominance. Warner was the aggressor in the opening stand of 69, hitting boundaries at will in the powerplay.
The partnership was broken when Brar knocked over Phil Salt (21 off 17) with a delivery that skidded though. The floodgates opened after that. Marsh (3) was trapped lbw by Chahar, while Rossouw (5) holed out to deep midwicket off Brar’s bowling. The left-arm spinner dealt a body blow to Delhi’s hopes, trapping Warner leg-before. PBKS used a smart review to overturn the original decision of not out.
There was not fightback from Axar this time as he too fell lbw to Chahar for 1. Manish Pandey was the next to go, cleaned up by Brar for a duck. At 86/6, the fate of the contest was well and truly sealed, ending DC’s faint hopes of qualifying for the IPL 2023 playoffs.
DC vs PBKS: Who won Player of the Match in yesterday's IPL 2023 match?
Prabhsimran scored a sensational ton for PBKS, while Brar was outstanding with the ball. Leggie Chahar also chipped in with two key wickets.
For DC, Ishant shone with two big wickets, while captain Warner scored a swashbuckling half-century.
Prabhsimran was named the Player of the Match for his superb hundred.
