Delhi Daredevils scripted their first win in IPL 2016, defeating Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday. Amit Mishra shone with the ball while Quinton de Kock batted superbly to help Daredevils come up with a convincing win to please the home crowd.
The pitch in Delhi is always said to assist the spinners, but one needs to bowl in the right areas, and leg-spinner, Mishra did exactly that, and took four wickets. It was his bowling, which helped Delhi dismiss Kings XI for a paltry score of 111 runs. Daredevils chased the score in 13.3 overs, with 39 balls to spare.
Mishra, who was playing his 100th IPL match, looked in complete control as he bowled his leg spinners, along with his wrong one and other varieties, to trouble Kings XI batsmen, who looked in all sorts of trouble.
But, one needs to give credit to Zaheer Khan as well. The seamer did not concede any easy runs. After having stifled Kings XI batsmen for runs, Mishra took advantage of the pressure which their opponents were on, and ran through their batting line-up, taking four wickets in three overs.
To make it worse, Kings XI running between the wicket was poor, as they lost Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha via run outs. However, Daredevils' fielders looked sharp in the field as well.
Besides Manan Vohra, who scored 32 runs, none of the other batsmen could score for Kings XI. Pardeep Sahu was the second highest scorer for Kings XI, scoring 18 runs which explains their dismal show, only scoring 111 runs in their alloted 20 overs.
With such a below par total, the Kings XI bowlers were required to take some quick wickets if they were to have any chance of winning their first game in IPL 2016. Sandeep Sharma might have dismissed Shreyas Iyer in the third over, but the Daredevils batsmen -- De Kock and Sanju Samson -- looked comfortable at the batting crease, as they scored at a decent rate during the Powerplay.
They scored 28 runs for the loss of one wicket in six overs. De Kock and Sanju Samson played some sensible cricket, reaching 50 runs in eight overs, and the pair looked in complete control of the situation, with De Kock playing the senior batsman's role, with those aggressive shots. Samson was scoring runs with ease in ones, twos, and the occasional four, but lost his wicket for 33 runs in the 13th over.
But it did not really matter for Delhi as they won the match in the next over. De Kock top-scored with 59 runs, which included nine fours and one six.
With this win, Daredevils have shown that they are a disciplined unit, but they need to play such quality cricket, consistently, throughout IPL 2016. Daredevils will face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.
Watch IPL 2016 highlights of Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab HERE and HERE
