Cricket Scorecard

The Punjab Kings players get into a huddle.

... THE RUN CHASE ...

The last time a match was held on this pitch, the team batting first ended up winning by 100 runs. Mumbai Indians made 217 and then choked Rajasthan Royals to just 117. Don't think there is any dew on offer and there are certain areas on this pitch which make the ball come a bit two paced. If Punjab defend, they will go on top of the table and get one step closer to making it to Qualifier 1. Will DC be able to make it a hattrick of losses for the top 3 in the last 3 days? Stay tuned.

Overall, the score looks like it can be chased down but once again Delhi Capitals would be disappointed with their effort. They picked up 8 wickets, but created as many as 14 chances! That means, a total of 6 dropped catches. Two of those included Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis. Mustafizur Rahman seemed the only bowler who was getting unfazed by Punjab's tactics to go at him while the others suffered under constant attacking. The inclusion of an extra batter meant that DC were forced to use o

After the early dismissal of Priyansh Arya, The Kings had 5 straight stands of 20 or more. That ensured that there was never a collapse as such and every time Delhi tried to put pressure, they kept getting pushed back. And towards the end, the blitz from Stoinis just tore the Capitals apart, as his unbeaten whirlwind 44 (16) ensured that PBKS amassed 64 in the last 5 overs.

A pure T20-type batting style by Punjab. From the word go, they went hard at the bowlers, despite losing wickets at regular intervals. You look at the scorecard and might react - just one batter crossing 50 in the top 6. But that's how this lineup is built. They need one batter to bat deep and that was Shreyas Iyer in this innings. He looked a million dollars again, fluent from the very start, making a quickfire 53 (34). On the other hand, people around him came in and went out but not before t

50-50? That's how this innings has progressed. Punjab Kings have been forced to use all of their 10 hitters in this power-packed lineup and that has enabled them to get past 200 for the 7th time this season in 9 hits while batting first! It does look a good score, but is it enough? In today's age, anything upto 220 is considered to be chaseable. That's exactly what Delhi Capitals would be thinking right now.

Punjab Kings' MARCUS STOINIS is up for a chat. On his prolonged break, he says that unfortunately, he had Covid and just rested up before coming back in. Adds that at the end, you go to one mode and was surprised that the opposition didn't bowl many slower balls, Feels that it is a good score on the board. Reckons that the slower balls were holding a bit and one can use the bigger side but the wind is a factor as well.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marcus Stoinis, SAFE IN BETWEEN! Well, The Fizz should have had his 4th wicket but he alone is responsible for not getting that. A cutter, on a length, outside off, angling away, Marcus Stoinis looks to pull but is way too early into the shot. Gets a top edge which goes only as far as short mid-wicket. Should have been a simple catch but the problem is - two players go for it. Mustafizur Rahman himself goes for the catch to his right while mid-wicket comes running in

Right then. The Hulk vs The Fizz. Who triumphs?

Mustafizur Rahman to Harpreet Brar, A quick bumper now, around off, Brar goes for the pull again but is cramped for room. Mistimes it to long on for a run.

Mustafizur Rahman to Harpreet Brar, ! Tonking time! Mustafizur bowls length, around off, getting the ball to come in with the angle into the left-hander. Harpreet Brar stands calm and swings it with fierce power over deep mid-wicket! PUNJAB KINGS CROSS 200 FOR THE 7TH TIME THIS SEASON!

Harpreet Brar is in next, at number 10, replacing Marco Jansen. Even he can tonk the ball, though now he would be caught in two minds - whether to try and hit the ball hard or give Stoinis 2 balls to face.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marco Jansen, ! CAUGHT BEHIND! 

Mustafizur Rahman to Marco Jansen, Another short one, angling across the batter. Marco Jansen swings and misses. 

Mustafizur Rahman to bowl the final over. 3-0-23-2 so far.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marcus Stoinis, Short-pitched, pace on from Mustafizur Rahman. Marcus Stoinis steps back and was ready for the pull but gets hurried on the ball rolls past extra cover for one. 

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, Finally the yorker lands, wide outside off. Stoinis squeezes it through cover and takes the single, retaining the strike. 22 from the over and Mohit Sharma finishes with figures of 4-0-47-0!

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! In the arc and out of the park! Marcus Stoinis takes a leaf out of David Miller's book. A gentle half volley, right in the slot at this stage and totally wrong ball with mid off up.

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! A slower ball, short in length, wide outside off, Marcus Stoinis gets well across, gets inside the line and pulls it all along the ground, through square leg for a boundary.

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, Wide outside off, left alone. Oh dear, the siren goes booming and this will be overturned to a NO BALL call. Free Hit loading!

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, Good length, pace taken off. Marcus Stoinis leaves it. 

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! Poor fielding effort in the deep again and this time the culprit is Vipraj Nigam. Low full toss around off, Marcus Stoinis moves across and goes for the slog. Gets it flicked off the inside off his bat and it was in the reach for Vipraj Nigam at deep mid-wicket running towards his right. 

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! The dropped chance is compounding on Mohit Sharma as Stoinis takes him down for a biggie. Short-pitched, at a gentle pace, Marcus Stoinis stands still and middles the pull and the ball has sailed over the fence and a good 20 rows behind the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region. 

Not done yet. In walks Marco Jansen at number 9, replacing Azmatullah Omarzai. He can definitely tonk the ball around.

Kuldeep Yadav to Azmatullah Omarzai, ! CAUGHT! Two wickets in the over and this is good for Delhi Capitals!

Kuldeep Yadav to Marcus Stoinis, On middle, pushed through mid on for a run.

Kuldeep Yadav to Azmatullah Omarzai, A googly, outside off, Omarzai punches it through the covers for a single.

Kuldeep Yadav to Azmatullah Omarzai, Full, on midle, pushed towards mid on.

The big hitters just keep coming. Azmatullah Omarzai is next, at number 8, replacing his skipper, Shreyas Iyer.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, ! c Mohit Sharma b Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep Yadav to Marcus Stoinis, SOAPY HANDS FROM Mohit Sharma AGAIN! Earlier, Sharma dropped Josh Inglis and now Marcus Stoinis. 

Surely Kuldeep now? Yep. 3-0-36-0 so far. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals announce their impact sub as KL Rahul comes onto the field, substituting Mukesh Kumar.

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, ! 26TH IPL FIFTY FOR SHREYAS IYER! 5th in this season.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, Pace off, around middle, heaved through mid on for a run.

Oh dear. Faf du Plessis is going off the field to have his finger treated. Seems like Tristan Stubbs who is taking on the role of captaincy.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, ! And has Faf du Plessis injured himself? Stoinis is in Hulk mode now. 17 from just 4 balls! Full, outside off, Marcus Stoinis hammers this down the ground. Du Plessis tries to get across to his right from long off and tries to stop the ball.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, WIDE! The third in this over! One can see that Mukesh is under pressure. Tries to get away from the hitting arc of Stoinis and bowl it wide outside off, but ends up bowling it outside the tramline.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, ! Even this has travelled the distance and the Hulk has announced his arrival in this contest. Pitched-up on the pads, Marcus Stoinis gets inside the line of it and flicks this one. The ball has sailed over the fence towards deep square for a big six. 

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, WIDE! Short-pitched, way too wide outside off. Marcus Stoinis just leaves it. Wided. 

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, ! This is smoked over the fence for a huge six. Short-pitched, not short enough for an Aussie at least. Marcus Stoinis stands inside his crease and pulls this right out of the middle of his bat and deposits this on the other side of the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region. 

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, Bumper, around off. Stoinis looks to play the upper cut but misses out. Marcus Stoinis was expecting a wide and he sends this upstairs. Here comes the Ball Tracker and it shows that the ball was over the batter's head and is called WIDE. 

Time for Kuldeep again? Not yet. Mukesh Kumar to bowl out. 3-0-24-1 so far.

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, A teaser for Ashutosh Sharma but it lands safely for Iyer. Back of a length around off, Shreyas looks to loft this over cover, aiming for the fence. The ball shoots up a bit and it lobs just behind a backtracking Ashutosh Sharma at extra cover. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Shreyas Iyer, Outside off, steered behind point for a run.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marcus Stoinis, 1 run.

Marcus Stoinis walks in next, at number 7, replacing Shashank Singh.

Mustafizur Rahman to Shashank Singh, ! CAUGHT BEHIND! The Fizz strikes again, getting his second wicket of the night! A length ball, outside off, Shashank Singh looked to steer it behind the wickets but only succeeded in feathering an edge to the keeper, Tristan Stubbs. A budding partnership is broken as Shashank departs for 11 (10) and all of a sudden, it seems like Shreyas to put on a one-man show if Punjab need to get past 200. 144/5 after 15.4 overs reads the team score.

Mustafizur Rahman to Shreyas Iyer, Touch full but wide outside off again. Shreyas Iyer chops this off the inside of his bat towards gully for a single. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Shreyas Iyer, No run.

Mustafizur Rahman to Shashank Singh, 1 run.

Change.

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, GREAT SAVE! Terrific attempt by Karun Nair but things are not going DC's way. A length ball, outside off, Shashank Singh went for the pull but got it from the top portion of the bat. The ball went towards long on where Nair was stationed. He leapt and took the catch, but then, on realizing that the momentum was taking him beyond the ropes, looked to push the ball back into play. He did so, but one felt that he landed on the skirtings while trying to push t

Is that a boundary saved? Or not? Karun Nair himself has signalled a six but the umpires want an official confirmation. Yes, the first replay seems to indicate that when the catch was taken, Nair's left foot was on the ropes. Interesting. Clean save, says the third umpire!

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, A full toss, on the pads, SI looks to drive but does not time it at all. Ends up bunting it towards mid on for a run.

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, Outside off, driven towards mid off for a run.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, TOP EDGE NOW, ! A good short ball by Mohit, around off, once again, Iyer goes for the pull. He is done in by the extra bounce and gets a fat top edge. Kuldeep Yadav runs back to his left from short fine leg and dives full stretch, getting fingertips onto the ball but not holding onto the catch. In hindsight, one believes that Sediqullah Atal coming in from deep square leg would have had a better chance at taking that catch. Single taken.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, CAUGHT BEHIND DISMISSAL OVERTURNED! It was a good short ball, around middle and Shreyas instinctively went for the hook. The ball deviated away and keeper Tristan Stubbs caught it. Appealed and the umpire gave his nod by raising his finger. But Shreyas Iyer reviewed it within a couple of seconds. There seemed to be a deflection, but my eyesight is not the greatest. Here comes UltraEdge. Absolutely nothing when ball goes past bat and glove! The third umpire i

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, A bit too straight, Shashank works it through mid on for a single.

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, 2 runs.

DC's spinners too, started falling back in the latter half of the tournament. They were still economical but couldn't deliver those crucial wickets with impact. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shashank Singh, Full, outside off, Singh blasts it through the covers. Excellent fielding by Ashutosh Sharma keeps the batters to a single. That's the end of Vipraj Nigam with the ball, returning with figures of 4-0-38-2.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, A touch short, on middle, Shreyas works it through mid-wicket for one.

Vipraj Nigam to Shashank Singh, 1 run.

Vipraj Nigam to Shashank Singh, Ahh... that's lucky for Shashank Singh. Charges out of his crease way too earVipraj Nigam smartly fires t wide outside off. But somehow, Shashank is able to get to the ball and carve it over backward point for a couple.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, On middle and leg, worked through square leg for a single.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, ! Vipraj Nigam has been brought back on to finish his quota and he is welcomed in style. Floated, outside off, Shreyas Iyer gets underneath the ball and with the spin, lofts this inside out over extra cover for a boundary. Moves to 42 (24).

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, Full and straight, the skipper works it through mid-wicket and calls for two. But the fielder charges in quickly and keeps the batters to a single.

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, ! That is so elegant and nonchalant! On a length, with a tiny bit of room outside off, Shreyas Iyer, with a high batlift, waits for the ball to arrive and at the last moment, opens the face of his bat to guide it behind point. The ball just races away.

Mukesh Kumar to Shashank Singh, On middle and leg, Shashank Singh works it through mid on for a single to get off the mark.

Shashank Singh walks in next at number 6, replacing Nehal Wadhera.

Mukesh Kumar to Nehal Wadhera, ! CAUGHT! The bowling change works and the in-form Wadhera is forced to depart!

Mukesh Kumar to Nehal Wadhera, Outside off, on a length, dragged towards long on through a mistimed pull. Good running to come back for the second.

One huge reason for DC's downfall has been Kuldeep's dip in form, who has taken just 1 wicket in the last 5 games. Faf ringing in the changes. Here's Mukesh Kumar again. 2-0-16-0 so far.

Mukesh Kumar to Nehal Wadhera, A pre-meditated shot. Nehal Wadhera displays his intentions early and goes for the paddle. Looking at that, Mukesh bowls it wide outside off. Wadhera adjusts and attemptes the scoop over the off side instead, but still misses.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Full, on middle, pushed down to long on for one more. 11 from the over, Kuldeep Yadav's bowling figures read 3-0-36-0.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, 1 run.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, On middle, worked through square leg for a couple. Moves to 32 (20).

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Short now, lucky to get away with it, Shreyas punches it straight to cover.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, ! Number 2 for the night for Iyer. Floated, around off, Shreyas Iyer gets underneath the ball and tonks it over long on.

Wadhera has switched gears when it comes to chasing this season. He has been dismissed only once, averaging 71.5 and striking at 163. Here's Kuldeep Yadav again. 2-0-25-0 so far.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, 1 run.

Mohit Sharma to Nehal Wadhera, Outside off, pushed behind point for a single.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, On a length, around off, hint of away movement, Shreyas punches it down the ground towards long on for a single.

Mohit Sharma to Nehal Wadhera, Outside off, a touch short, jabbed behind point for a run.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, ! CLUBBED! Overpitched, wide outside off, Shreyas Iyer stands his ground and blasts it over cover for a boundary!

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, 1 run.

Mohit Sharma to Nehal Wadhera, No run.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, Huge shout for LBW! Turned down. No thought about the review, because it seemed to be pitching outside leg.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, 1 run.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Floated, around off, Shreyas leans and pushes it through the covers for one more.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, Punched through mid on for another single.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, On middle and leg, Shreyas Iyer works it through mid-wicket for a run.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, Quicker one, around middle and off. Nehal Wadhera tucks this through mid-wicket for one. 

STRATEGIC TIME. Good game of cricket going on. Punjab Kings are just not wanting to take their foot off the accelerator but Delhi Capitals are trying to stay in the hunt with regular wickets. But they will need to just do that for the whole lot of 20 overs, because this lineup of PBKS will just keep on coming, as late till number 10 in Harpreet Brar! The wicket seems to be a good one to bat upon with just a tinge of extra bounce.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Wrong'un, pitched short, Nehal Wadhera rocks back and pulls this towards deep mid-wicket for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Around off, pushed towards mid off.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Tossed up, touch closer to leg. Nehal Wadhera steps across and once again guides this towards fine leg but just for a couple this time. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, ! Nehal Wadhera gets going with a boundary. Full and on the pads, Nehal Wadhera steps a long way across and just guides this through the vacant region towards short fine for a boundary. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Pushed through ont he pads, Iyer nudges this to long on for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Six!

Nehal Wadhera has been a foundation to PBKS' middle order this season, scoring 280 runs in 10 innings. This has been his best season in the IPL in terms of runs.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, No run.

Nehal Wadhera walks in next at number 5, replacing Prabhsimran Singh.

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, ! TIMBER! Way too much innovation from Singh and he pays the price for it. Too full, around middle and off. Prabhsimran Singh steps across and looks for the ramp but gets cramped as this was too full. The ball bounces around the popping crease and sneaks past the bat of Prabhsimran Singh before disturbing the timber. Singh departs on 28 (18). 

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, ! Excellently hit over cover for a boundary. The control from Prabhsimran Singh on this is tremendous. Tossed up around middle and off, Prabhsimran Singh moves a bit to his leg and lofts this over cover for a boundary. This almost cleared the fence but bounced just inside. 

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, Too full, around off, Prabhsimran Singh could only jam this to Faf du Plessis at short cover for no run. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Fuller and wide of off, Iyer punches this to sweeper cover for a single. 

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, Wrong'un around off, Prabhsimran Singh dabs this towards the gully region and takes one. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Prabhsimran Singh, Fuller on off, Prabhsimran Singh presses forward and drives this to sweeper cover for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Tossed up on off, Shreyas guides this to short third and steals a quick single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Floated wide of off, Shreyas Iyer cuts this straight at backward point for another dot. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Quicker and fuller on off, Shreyas Iyer punches this towards short extra cover for no run. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Prabhsimran Singh, ! Punished on the free hit. Short of a length, in the line of stumps. Prabhsimran Singh rocks back and slogs this up and over the fielder at long on for a biggie towards the PBKS dugout. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Prabhsimran Singh, Pushed through on the pads, Singh tucks this away for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, CRIMINAL FOR A SPINNER TO OVERSTEP! Kuldeep Yadav starts with a no ball. This was full on leg, Shreyas Iyer slogged this to wide long on for one. The third umpire hits the buzzer and the umpire signals NO BALL. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Too full on middle and leg, Iyer gets it away off the inside of his bat towards the mid-wicket region for a single. Punjab Kings end the Powerplay at 60 for 2. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, ! Iyer is up and running.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Around off, solidly defended.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Landed outside off, punched towards backward point.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer walks in next at number 4, replacing Josh Inglis.

Vipraj Nigam to Josh Inglis, ! STUMPED! The wide wouldn't hurt Delhi as this was clever from the bowler, followed by some excellent work behind the stumps by Tristan Stubbs. Pushed through around the pads, Josh Inglis was looking to attack the leggie by stepping outside his crease and Vipraj was clever enough to adjust his line a touch wider down the leg. Josh Inglis gets beaten all ends up and Tristan Stubbs collects this towards his left and breaks the stumps with Josh Inglis outsi

Vipraj Nigam to Josh Inglis, ! This time towards the off side for a boundary. Leggie around off, Josh Inglis rocks back and away and cuts this right in front of the stumps, Gets it fine and wide to the left of the short third fielder for four. 

Vipraj Nigam to Josh Inglis, ! Vipraj is greeted with a biggie. Short of a length around middle and off, Josh Inglis hops back and pulls this over the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region for a biggie. 50 UP FOR PUNJAB KINGS!

Who will bowl the final over of the Powerplay?

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, ! A boundary to end the over. On a length, wide outside off, Prabhsimran Singh strides to the pitch of it before casually lofting this over mid off for a boundary. 

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, Too full, around middle and off, Prabhsimran Singh looks for the scoop this time but could only manage to get it off the toe of his bat towards short fine for one. 

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, ! Innovative from Prabhsimran Singh. Good length wide outside off, Prabhsimran Singh shuffles across and was looking for the ramp initially. The ball was bowled too close to him as the bowler followed him and Singh clever just changed the the stroke from a ramp to a guide through the gap between short third and backward point for four. 

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, Outside off, pushed towards cover now.

Mohit Sharma to Josh Inglis, 1 run.

Mohit Sharma to Josh Inglis, On a length, outside off, skidding back in, Josh Inglis is late into his flick and gets hit on the pads.

Will see a bowling change now? Indeed. It will be Mohit Sharma. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, 1 run.

A bit of a halt in play. Seems like Josh Inglis has broken his bat. Guys from the PBKS dugout are rushing out to the middle for assistance. Right, the replaced bat goes through the bat gauge and we are ready to resume.

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, Mustafizur Rahman drags the length back a bit, around middle and off. Josh tucks this towards the left of deep square and runs a comfortable two. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, ! Josh Inglis looks in the mood to punish the side from the capital. On a length, around the pads. Josh Inglis leans inside the line of it, picks it up with a flick and deposits this beyond the fence towards the deep square leg fielder for a huge six. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, On a length, outside off, this time Singh gets enough room to open his bat face and guide it behind point for a single.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, Around middle and off, this time Prabhsimran looks to get across and dab it behind the wickets but gets cramped for room and is hit on the pads. Not sure whether there was an inside edge or not. But the impact seemed to be outside off.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, ! CRISP! That is sheer timing. On a length, around middle, angling away, Prabhsimran Singh just looks to push it back down the ground. Nice high bat lift, not trying to hit the ball hard. But still, the ball races away. Faf du Plessis tries to get around to his right from mid off with a dive but gets beaten.

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, ! ! We usually see Faf du Plessis at mid on in the Powerplay for Delhi but this time it was Mohit Sharma and he has dropped Josh Inglis. This was pitched up around middle and off, Josh Inglis jumps outside his crease and hammers this uppishly, towards the left of Mohit Sharma at mid on. Sharma dives full stretch to his left but could only manage to get a bit of hand to it. This goes past the fielder and clatters into the boundary fence. 

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, Good length, drifting down the leg. Josh Inglis moves inside the line of it and flicks this through mid-wicket and scampers back for two. 

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, Back of a length, around off. Josh Inglis steps across and punches this crisply but straight towards Mukesh on his follow-through. 

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, ! That's the way to pull, says Inglis! A short ball again, but this one does not quite rise that high. It is just about the waist level and Josh Inglis pulls it effortlessly through square leg for his first boundary of the night.

Mukesh Kumar to Prabhsimran Singh, TOP EDGE NOW, SAFE AGAIN!

Mukesh Kumar to Prabhsimran Singh, EDGED, JUST SHORT! Brilliant work by Karun Nair. On a length, just outside off, Prabhsimran Singh looks to defend but then, there is some late movement, away from the batter. He is squared up and looks to open the face of the bat in response, but is late. Gets an outside edge which lands just short of first slip where Nair dives to his right and makes a terrific stop. Not only that, gets up quickly and has a shy at the striker's end too, to keep the batte

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, Good length on the pads, Josh Inglis gets inside the line of it and flicks this towards deep square for a couple to get off the mark. A successful over for Delhi as Mustafizur Rahman gets a wicket and gives away just 5 off it. 

Josh Inglis walks in next at number 3, replacing Priyansh Arya.

Mustafizur Rahman to Priyansh Arya, ! CAUGHT BEHIND! A well-directed short-pitched delivery into the batter. Priyansh Arya gets hurried on as this was pace on from the Fizz. Arys goes for the pull but gets late and manages to lob this just behind Tristan Stubbs, donning the gloves behind the stumps. Stubbs backpedals and takes a good catch to break the opening pair of Punjab. Arya departs for 6 (9).

Mustafizur Rahman to Priyansh Arya, Swing and a miss. Arya isn't having the best of an outing this evening, so far. Good length, wide outside off, Priyansh Arya stands and throws his bat at it looking to loft this over cover but gets beaten. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Priyansh Arya, A bit of a misfield early on. Think it is Sameer Rizvi. ​​​​​​Nope, Ashutosh Sharma. On a length, around off, Priyansh Arya opens the face of his bat and guides it behind point. Ashutosh gets across to his right and reaches the ball, but fumbles, allowing the single.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, A touch short, around middle, Prabhsimran nudges it through square leg for a single, to get off the mark.

The Capitals had a great start to the season. For the first time in their history, Delhi Capitals won each of their first four games of the season. They won 6 out of their first 8 matches, but couldn't manage to win a single game in their last 5 fixtures this season. It will be Mustafizur Rahman to share the new ball.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, Right on the money. On a length, around off, angling away, Prabhsimran Singh pushes it towards cover.

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Persists with that nagging length around off, Priyansh pushes this towards mid off to end the over with a dot. 

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, ! A good bit of bowling by Mukesh but some clever work with the bat has earned Arya a boundary. Good length around off, Priyansh Arya plays this late and just opens the face of his bat to rin this wide to the first slip fielder to his left for a boundary towards the third man region. 

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Good length, angling into the batter around his pads. Priyansh Arya goes for the flick but gets beaten by the swing on offer and wears it on his thigh pad. 

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Wide!

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Hint of swing. Fuller, around middle and leg, Priyansh covers the swing nicely and blocks it down the track.

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, On a good length to start, just around off, angling away, at 131.1 kph. Priyansh Arya watchfully pushes it towards mid off.

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Slightly shorter than the previous ball, skids through, coming in slightly, 139.7 kph, Arya punches it towards mid off from his crease.

The umpires make their way out to the field. Some last words being spoken amongst the DC huddle. It disperses and out walk the PBKS openers - Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya. It will be Mukesh Kumar to start off proceedings with the new ball. Priyansh Arya will take first strike. A nice breeze is blowing across the ground now, which should help the players. All set then. Here we go!

Interesting calls from both sides. Punjab Kings have opted to drop in a spinner, in that too, Yuzvendra Chahal, not even being named in the impact list. Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have left out the in-form Abishek Porel, but that might be because of the fact that Sediqullah Atal has been creating waves in the T20 circuit. Perhaps the DC management wants to see what more does Afghanistan have to offer in their latest talent. And in this match as well, one will not see Rahul on the fi

The captain of Punjab Kings, SHREYAS IYER, on being asked about the mood in the dressing room after qualifying for the playoffs after 10 years, says that there are happy faces around, with the management equally happy with the 'Q' sign against the team's name. But adds that personally, he is neither saitisfied nor contented, as he wants to build momentum from here around. He explains that there has been a lot of effort to get to this stage and he now wants all those efforts to help them fini

The skipper of Delhi Capitals, FAF DU PLESSIS, on being asked about his decision to bowl, says that he is 50-50 and the decision is purely due to the makeup of his side, which features an extra batter. Faf feels that with that additional batter, he would be better used in the second half. On DC's tournament, du Plessis admits that it has been a kind of a rollercoaster ride with players lacking confidence with things not going their way. Details that unfortunately for his players, when they have

IMPACT NOMINATIONS FOR DELHI - KL Rahul, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Ajay Mandal and Darshan Nalkande.

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI) - Faf du Plessis (C), Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs (WK), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mustafizur Rahman and Mukesh Kumar.

IMPACT NOMINATIONS FOR PUNJAB - Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett and Kyle Jamieson.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI) - Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar and Arshdeep Singh.

TOSS - Time for decision making for the captains. Defend or chase? Will dew be a factor? It is indeed FAF DU PLESSIS who will shepherd the Capitals for one last time this season. The home captain for this game, SHREYAS IYER, flips the coin. Tails is the call from Faf. It turns down as a tail. DELHI CAPITALS ELECT TO CHASE.

The Punjab Kings players get into a huddle.

... THE RUN CHASE ...

The last time a match was held on this pitch, the team batting first ended up winning by 100 runs. Mumbai Indians made 217 and then choked Rajasthan Royals to just 117. Don't think there is any dew on offer and there are certain areas on this pitch which make the ball come a bit two paced. If Punjab defend, they will go on top of the table and get one step closer to making it to Qualifier 1. Will DC be able to make it a hattrick of losses for the top 3 in the last 3 days? Stay tuned.

Overall, the score looks like it can be chased down but once again Delhi Capitals would be disappointed with their effort. They picked up 8 wickets, but created as many as 14 chances! That means, a total of 6 dropped catches. Two of those included Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis. Mustafizur Rahman seemed the only bowler who was getting unfazed by Punjab's tactics to go at him while the others suffered under constant attacking. The inclusion of an extra batter meant that DC were forced to use o

After the early dismissal of Priyansh Arya, The Kings had 5 straight stands of 20 or more. That ensured that there was never a collapse as such and every time Delhi tried to put pressure, they kept getting pushed back. And towards the end, the blitz from Stoinis just tore the Capitals apart, as his unbeaten whirlwind 44 (16) ensured that PBKS amassed 64 in the last 5 overs.

A pure T20-type batting style by Punjab. From the word go, they went hard at the bowlers, despite losing wickets at regular intervals. You look at the scorecard and might react - just one batter crossing 50 in the top 6. But that's how this lineup is built. They need one batter to bat deep and that was Shreyas Iyer in this innings. He looked a million dollars again, fluent from the very start, making a quickfire 53 (34). On the other hand, people around him came in and went out but not before t

50-50? That's how this innings has progressed. Punjab Kings have been forced to use all of their 10 hitters in this power-packed lineup and that has enabled them to get past 200 for the 7th time this season in 9 hits while batting first! It does look a good score, but is it enough? In today's age, anything upto 220 is considered to be chaseable. That's exactly what Delhi Capitals would be thinking right now.

Punjab Kings' MARCUS STOINIS is up for a chat. On his prolonged break, he says that unfortunately, he had Covid and just rested up before coming back in. Adds that at the end, you go to one mode and was surprised that the opposition didn't bowl many slower balls, Feels that it is a good score on the board. Reckons that the slower balls were holding a bit and one can use the bigger side but the wind is a factor as well.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marcus Stoinis, SAFE IN BETWEEN! Well, The Fizz should have had his 4th wicket but he alone is responsible for not getting that. A cutter, on a length, outside off, angling away, Marcus Stoinis looks to pull but is way too early into the shot. Gets a top edge which goes only as far as short mid-wicket. Should have been a simple catch but the problem is - two players go for it. Mustafizur Rahman himself goes for the catch to his right while mid-wicket comes running in

Right then. The Hulk vs The Fizz. Who triumphs?

Mustafizur Rahman to Harpreet Brar, A quick bumper now, around off, Brar goes for the pull again but is cramped for room. Mistimes it to long on for a run.

Mustafizur Rahman to Harpreet Brar, ! Tonking time! Mustafizur bowls length, around off, getting the ball to come in with the angle into the left-hander. Harpreet Brar stands calm and swings it with fierce power over deep mid-wicket! PUNJAB KINGS CROSS 200 FOR THE 7TH TIME THIS SEASON!

Harpreet Brar is in next, at number 10, replacing Marco Jansen. Even he can tonk the ball, though now he would be caught in two minds - whether to try and hit the ball hard or give Stoinis 2 balls to face.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marco Jansen, ! CAUGHT BEHIND! 

Mustafizur Rahman to Marco Jansen, Another short one, angling across the batter. Marco Jansen swings and misses. 

Mustafizur Rahman to bowl the final over. 3-0-23-2 so far.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marcus Stoinis, Short-pitched, pace on from Mustafizur Rahman. Marcus Stoinis steps back and was ready for the pull but gets hurried on the ball rolls past extra cover for one. 

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, Finally the yorker lands, wide outside off. Stoinis squeezes it through cover and takes the single, retaining the strike. 22 from the over and Mohit Sharma finishes with figures of 4-0-47-0!

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! In the arc and out of the park! Marcus Stoinis takes a leaf out of David Miller's book. A gentle half volley, right in the slot at this stage and totally wrong ball with mid off up.

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! A slower ball, short in length, wide outside off, Marcus Stoinis gets well across, gets inside the line and pulls it all along the ground, through square leg for a boundary.

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, Wide outside off, left alone. Oh dear, the siren goes booming and this will be overturned to a NO BALL call. Free Hit loading!

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, Good length, pace taken off. Marcus Stoinis leaves it. 

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! Poor fielding effort in the deep again and this time the culprit is Vipraj Nigam. Low full toss around off, Marcus Stoinis moves across and goes for the slog. Gets it flicked off the inside off his bat and it was in the reach for Vipraj Nigam at deep mid-wicket running towards his right. 

Mohit Sharma to Marcus Stoinis, ! The dropped chance is compounding on Mohit Sharma as Stoinis takes him down for a biggie. Short-pitched, at a gentle pace, Marcus Stoinis stands still and middles the pull and the ball has sailed over the fence and a good 20 rows behind the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region. 

Not done yet. In walks Marco Jansen at number 9, replacing Azmatullah Omarzai. He can definitely tonk the ball around.

Kuldeep Yadav to Azmatullah Omarzai, ! CAUGHT! Two wickets in the over and this is good for Delhi Capitals!

Kuldeep Yadav to Marcus Stoinis, On middle, pushed through mid on for a run.

Kuldeep Yadav to Azmatullah Omarzai, A googly, outside off, Omarzai punches it through the covers for a single.

Kuldeep Yadav to Azmatullah Omarzai, Full, on midle, pushed towards mid on.

The big hitters just keep coming. Azmatullah Omarzai is next, at number 8, replacing his skipper, Shreyas Iyer.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, ! c Mohit Sharma b Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep Yadav to Marcus Stoinis, SOAPY HANDS FROM Mohit Sharma AGAIN! Earlier, Sharma dropped Josh Inglis and now Marcus Stoinis. 

Surely Kuldeep now? Yep. 3-0-36-0 so far. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals announce their impact sub as KL Rahul comes onto the field, substituting Mukesh Kumar.

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, ! 26TH IPL FIFTY FOR SHREYAS IYER! 5th in this season.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, Pace off, around middle, heaved through mid on for a run.

Oh dear. Faf du Plessis is going off the field to have his finger treated. Seems like Tristan Stubbs who is taking on the role of captaincy.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, ! And has Faf du Plessis injured himself? Stoinis is in Hulk mode now. 17 from just 4 balls! Full, outside off, Marcus Stoinis hammers this down the ground. Du Plessis tries to get across to his right from long off and tries to stop the ball.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, WIDE! The third in this over! One can see that Mukesh is under pressure. Tries to get away from the hitting arc of Stoinis and bowl it wide outside off, but ends up bowling it outside the tramline.

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, ! Even this has travelled the distance and the Hulk has announced his arrival in this contest. Pitched-up on the pads, Marcus Stoinis gets inside the line of it and flicks this one. The ball has sailed over the fence towards deep square for a big six. 

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, WIDE! Short-pitched, way too wide outside off. Marcus Stoinis just leaves it. Wided. 

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, ! This is smoked over the fence for a huge six. Short-pitched, not short enough for an Aussie at least. Marcus Stoinis stands inside his crease and pulls this right out of the middle of his bat and deposits this on the other side of the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region. 

Mukesh Kumar to Marcus Stoinis, Bumper, around off. Stoinis looks to play the upper cut but misses out. Marcus Stoinis was expecting a wide and he sends this upstairs. Here comes the Ball Tracker and it shows that the ball was over the batter's head and is called WIDE. 

Time for Kuldeep again? Not yet. Mukesh Kumar to bowl out. 3-0-24-1 so far.

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, A teaser for Ashutosh Sharma but it lands safely for Iyer. Back of a length around off, Shreyas looks to loft this over cover, aiming for the fence. The ball shoots up a bit and it lobs just behind a backtracking Ashutosh Sharma at extra cover. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Shreyas Iyer, Outside off, steered behind point for a run.

Mustafizur Rahman to Marcus Stoinis, 1 run.

Marcus Stoinis walks in next, at number 7, replacing Shashank Singh.

Mustafizur Rahman to Shashank Singh, ! CAUGHT BEHIND! The Fizz strikes again, getting his second wicket of the night! A length ball, outside off, Shashank Singh looked to steer it behind the wickets but only succeeded in feathering an edge to the keeper, Tristan Stubbs. A budding partnership is broken as Shashank departs for 11 (10) and all of a sudden, it seems like Shreyas to put on a one-man show if Punjab need to get past 200. 144/5 after 15.4 overs reads the team score.

Mustafizur Rahman to Shreyas Iyer, Touch full but wide outside off again. Shreyas Iyer chops this off the inside of his bat towards gully for a single. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Shreyas Iyer, No run.

Mustafizur Rahman to Shashank Singh, 1 run.

Change.

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, GREAT SAVE! Terrific attempt by Karun Nair but things are not going DC's way. A length ball, outside off, Shashank Singh went for the pull but got it from the top portion of the bat. The ball went towards long on where Nair was stationed. He leapt and took the catch, but then, on realizing that the momentum was taking him beyond the ropes, looked to push the ball back into play. He did so, but one felt that he landed on the skirtings while trying to push t

Is that a boundary saved? Or not? Karun Nair himself has signalled a six but the umpires want an official confirmation. Yes, the first replay seems to indicate that when the catch was taken, Nair's left foot was on the ropes. Interesting. Clean save, says the third umpire!

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, A full toss, on the pads, SI looks to drive but does not time it at all. Ends up bunting it towards mid on for a run.

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, Outside off, driven towards mid off for a run.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, TOP EDGE NOW, ! A good short ball by Mohit, around off, once again, Iyer goes for the pull. He is done in by the extra bounce and gets a fat top edge. Kuldeep Yadav runs back to his left from short fine leg and dives full stretch, getting fingertips onto the ball but not holding onto the catch. In hindsight, one believes that Sediqullah Atal coming in from deep square leg would have had a better chance at taking that catch. Single taken.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, CAUGHT BEHIND DISMISSAL OVERTURNED! It was a good short ball, around middle and Shreyas instinctively went for the hook. The ball deviated away and keeper Tristan Stubbs caught it. Appealed and the umpire gave his nod by raising his finger. But Shreyas Iyer reviewed it within a couple of seconds. There seemed to be a deflection, but my eyesight is not the greatest. Here comes UltraEdge. Absolutely nothing when ball goes past bat and glove! The third umpire i

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, A bit too straight, Shashank works it through mid on for a single.

Mohit Sharma to Shashank Singh, 2 runs.

DC's spinners too, started falling back in the latter half of the tournament. They were still economical but couldn't deliver those crucial wickets with impact. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shashank Singh, Full, outside off, Singh blasts it through the covers. Excellent fielding by Ashutosh Sharma keeps the batters to a single. That's the end of Vipraj Nigam with the ball, returning with figures of 4-0-38-2.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, A touch short, on middle, Shreyas works it through mid-wicket for one.

Vipraj Nigam to Shashank Singh, 1 run.

Vipraj Nigam to Shashank Singh, Ahh... that's lucky for Shashank Singh. Charges out of his crease way too earVipraj Nigam smartly fires t wide outside off. But somehow, Shashank is able to get to the ball and carve it over backward point for a couple.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, On middle and leg, worked through square leg for a single.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, ! Vipraj Nigam has been brought back on to finish his quota and he is welcomed in style. Floated, outside off, Shreyas Iyer gets underneath the ball and with the spin, lofts this inside out over extra cover for a boundary. Moves to 42 (24).

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, Full and straight, the skipper works it through mid-wicket and calls for two. But the fielder charges in quickly and keeps the batters to a single.

Mukesh Kumar to Shreyas Iyer, ! That is so elegant and nonchalant! On a length, with a tiny bit of room outside off, Shreyas Iyer, with a high batlift, waits for the ball to arrive and at the last moment, opens the face of his bat to guide it behind point. The ball just races away.

Mukesh Kumar to Shashank Singh, On middle and leg, Shashank Singh works it through mid on for a single to get off the mark.

Shashank Singh walks in next at number 6, replacing Nehal Wadhera.

Mukesh Kumar to Nehal Wadhera, ! CAUGHT! The bowling change works and the in-form Wadhera is forced to depart!

Mukesh Kumar to Nehal Wadhera, Outside off, on a length, dragged towards long on through a mistimed pull. Good running to come back for the second.

One huge reason for DC's downfall has been Kuldeep's dip in form, who has taken just 1 wicket in the last 5 games. Faf ringing in the changes. Here's Mukesh Kumar again. 2-0-16-0 so far.

Mukesh Kumar to Nehal Wadhera, A pre-meditated shot. Nehal Wadhera displays his intentions early and goes for the paddle. Looking at that, Mukesh bowls it wide outside off. Wadhera adjusts and attemptes the scoop over the off side instead, but still misses.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Full, on middle, pushed down to long on for one more. 11 from the over, Kuldeep Yadav's bowling figures read 3-0-36-0.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, 1 run.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, On middle, worked through square leg for a couple. Moves to 32 (20).

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Short now, lucky to get away with it, Shreyas punches it straight to cover.

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, ! Number 2 for the night for Iyer. Floated, around off, Shreyas Iyer gets underneath the ball and tonks it over long on.

Wadhera has switched gears when it comes to chasing this season. He has been dismissed only once, averaging 71.5 and striking at 163. Here's Kuldeep Yadav again. 2-0-25-0 so far.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, 1 run.

Mohit Sharma to Nehal Wadhera, Outside off, pushed behind point for a single.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, On a length, around off, hint of away movement, Shreyas punches it down the ground towards long on for a single.

Mohit Sharma to Nehal Wadhera, Outside off, a touch short, jabbed behind point for a run.

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, ! CLUBBED! Overpitched, wide outside off, Shreyas Iyer stands his ground and blasts it over cover for a boundary!

Mohit Sharma to Shreyas Iyer, 1 run.

Mohit Sharma to Nehal Wadhera, No run.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, Huge shout for LBW! Turned down. No thought about the review, because it seemed to be pitching outside leg.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, 1 run.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Floated, around off, Shreyas leans and pushes it through the covers for one more.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, Punched through mid on for another single.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, On middle and leg, Shreyas Iyer works it through mid-wicket for a run.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, Quicker one, around middle and off. Nehal Wadhera tucks this through mid-wicket for one. 

STRATEGIC TIME. Good game of cricket going on. Punjab Kings are just not wanting to take their foot off the accelerator but Delhi Capitals are trying to stay in the hunt with regular wickets. But they will need to just do that for the whole lot of 20 overs, because this lineup of PBKS will just keep on coming, as late till number 10 in Harpreet Brar! The wicket seems to be a good one to bat upon with just a tinge of extra bounce.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Wrong'un, pitched short, Nehal Wadhera rocks back and pulls this towards deep mid-wicket for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Around off, pushed towards mid off.

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, Tossed up, touch closer to leg. Nehal Wadhera steps across and once again guides this towards fine leg but just for a couple this time. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Nehal Wadhera, ! Nehal Wadhera gets going with a boundary. Full and on the pads, Nehal Wadhera steps a long way across and just guides this through the vacant region towards short fine for a boundary. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Pushed through ont he pads, Iyer nudges this to long on for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Six!

Nehal Wadhera has been a foundation to PBKS' middle order this season, scoring 280 runs in 10 innings. This has been his best season in the IPL in terms of runs.

Vipraj Nigam to Nehal Wadhera, No run.

Nehal Wadhera walks in next at number 5, replacing Prabhsimran Singh.

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, ! TIMBER! Way too much innovation from Singh and he pays the price for it. Too full, around middle and off. Prabhsimran Singh steps across and looks for the ramp but gets cramped as this was too full. The ball bounces around the popping crease and sneaks past the bat of Prabhsimran Singh before disturbing the timber. Singh departs on 28 (18). 

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, ! Excellently hit over cover for a boundary. The control from Prabhsimran Singh on this is tremendous. Tossed up around middle and off, Prabhsimran Singh moves a bit to his leg and lofts this over cover for a boundary. This almost cleared the fence but bounced just inside. 

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, Too full, around off, Prabhsimran Singh could only jam this to Faf du Plessis at short cover for no run. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Fuller and wide of off, Iyer punches this to sweeper cover for a single. 

Vipraj Nigam to Prabhsimran Singh, Wrong'un around off, Prabhsimran Singh dabs this towards the gully region and takes one. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Prabhsimran Singh, Fuller on off, Prabhsimran Singh presses forward and drives this to sweeper cover for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Tossed up on off, Shreyas guides this to short third and steals a quick single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Floated wide of off, Shreyas Iyer cuts this straight at backward point for another dot. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, Quicker and fuller on off, Shreyas Iyer punches this towards short extra cover for no run. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Prabhsimran Singh, ! Punished on the free hit. Short of a length, in the line of stumps. Prabhsimran Singh rocks back and slogs this up and over the fielder at long on for a biggie towards the PBKS dugout. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Prabhsimran Singh, Pushed through on the pads, Singh tucks this away for a single. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Shreyas Iyer, CRIMINAL FOR A SPINNER TO OVERSTEP! Kuldeep Yadav starts with a no ball. This was full on leg, Shreyas Iyer slogged this to wide long on for one. The third umpire hits the buzzer and the umpire signals NO BALL. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Too full on middle and leg, Iyer gets it away off the inside of his bat towards the mid-wicket region for a single. Punjab Kings end the Powerplay at 60 for 2. 

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, ! Iyer is up and running.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Around off, solidly defended.

Vipraj Nigam to Shreyas Iyer, Landed outside off, punched towards backward point.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer walks in next at number 4, replacing Josh Inglis.

Vipraj Nigam to Josh Inglis, ! STUMPED! The wide wouldn't hurt Delhi as this was clever from the bowler, followed by some excellent work behind the stumps by Tristan Stubbs. Pushed through around the pads, Josh Inglis was looking to attack the leggie by stepping outside his crease and Vipraj was clever enough to adjust his line a touch wider down the leg. Josh Inglis gets beaten all ends up and Tristan Stubbs collects this towards his left and breaks the stumps with Josh Inglis outsi

Vipraj Nigam to Josh Inglis, ! This time towards the off side for a boundary. Leggie around off, Josh Inglis rocks back and away and cuts this right in front of the stumps, Gets it fine and wide to the left of the short third fielder for four. 

Vipraj Nigam to Josh Inglis, ! Vipraj is greeted with a biggie. Short of a length around middle and off, Josh Inglis hops back and pulls this over the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region for a biggie. 50 UP FOR PUNJAB KINGS!

Who will bowl the final over of the Powerplay?

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, ! A boundary to end the over. On a length, wide outside off, Prabhsimran Singh strides to the pitch of it before casually lofting this over mid off for a boundary. 

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, Too full, around middle and off, Prabhsimran Singh looks for the scoop this time but could only manage to get it off the toe of his bat towards short fine for one. 

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, ! Innovative from Prabhsimran Singh. Good length wide outside off, Prabhsimran Singh shuffles across and was looking for the ramp initially. The ball was bowled too close to him as the bowler followed him and Singh clever just changed the the stroke from a ramp to a guide through the gap between short third and backward point for four. 

Mohit Sharma to Prabhsimran Singh, Outside off, pushed towards cover now.

Mohit Sharma to Josh Inglis, 1 run.

Mohit Sharma to Josh Inglis, On a length, outside off, skidding back in, Josh Inglis is late into his flick and gets hit on the pads.

Will see a bowling change now? Indeed. It will be Mohit Sharma. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, 1 run.

A bit of a halt in play. Seems like Josh Inglis has broken his bat. Guys from the PBKS dugout are rushing out to the middle for assistance. Right, the replaced bat goes through the bat gauge and we are ready to resume.

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, Mustafizur Rahman drags the length back a bit, around middle and off. Josh tucks this towards the left of deep square and runs a comfortable two. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, ! Josh Inglis looks in the mood to punish the side from the capital. On a length, around the pads. Josh Inglis leans inside the line of it, picks it up with a flick and deposits this beyond the fence towards the deep square leg fielder for a huge six. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, On a length, outside off, this time Singh gets enough room to open his bat face and guide it behind point for a single.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, Around middle and off, this time Prabhsimran looks to get across and dab it behind the wickets but gets cramped for room and is hit on the pads. Not sure whether there was an inside edge or not. But the impact seemed to be outside off.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, ! CRISP! That is sheer timing. On a length, around middle, angling away, Prabhsimran Singh just looks to push it back down the ground. Nice high bat lift, not trying to hit the ball hard. But still, the ball races away. Faf du Plessis tries to get around to his right from mid off with a dive but gets beaten.

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, ! ! We usually see Faf du Plessis at mid on in the Powerplay for Delhi but this time it was Mohit Sharma and he has dropped Josh Inglis. This was pitched up around middle and off, Josh Inglis jumps outside his crease and hammers this uppishly, towards the left of Mohit Sharma at mid on. Sharma dives full stretch to his left but could only manage to get a bit of hand to it. This goes past the fielder and clatters into the boundary fence. 

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, Good length, drifting down the leg. Josh Inglis moves inside the line of it and flicks this through mid-wicket and scampers back for two. 

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, Back of a length, around off. Josh Inglis steps across and punches this crisply but straight towards Mukesh on his follow-through. 

Mukesh Kumar to Josh Inglis, ! That's the way to pull, says Inglis! A short ball again, but this one does not quite rise that high. It is just about the waist level and Josh Inglis pulls it effortlessly through square leg for his first boundary of the night.

Mukesh Kumar to Prabhsimran Singh, TOP EDGE NOW, SAFE AGAIN!

Mukesh Kumar to Prabhsimran Singh, EDGED, JUST SHORT! Brilliant work by Karun Nair. On a length, just outside off, Prabhsimran Singh looks to defend but then, there is some late movement, away from the batter. He is squared up and looks to open the face of the bat in response, but is late. Gets an outside edge which lands just short of first slip where Nair dives to his right and makes a terrific stop. Not only that, gets up quickly and has a shy at the striker's end too, to keep the batte

Mustafizur Rahman to Josh Inglis, Good length on the pads, Josh Inglis gets inside the line of it and flicks this towards deep square for a couple to get off the mark. A successful over for Delhi as Mustafizur Rahman gets a wicket and gives away just 5 off it. 

Josh Inglis walks in next at number 3, replacing Priyansh Arya.

Mustafizur Rahman to Priyansh Arya, ! CAUGHT BEHIND! A well-directed short-pitched delivery into the batter. Priyansh Arya gets hurried on as this was pace on from the Fizz. Arys goes for the pull but gets late and manages to lob this just behind Tristan Stubbs, donning the gloves behind the stumps. Stubbs backpedals and takes a good catch to break the opening pair of Punjab. Arya departs for 6 (9).

Mustafizur Rahman to Priyansh Arya, Swing and a miss. Arya isn't having the best of an outing this evening, so far. Good length, wide outside off, Priyansh Arya stands and throws his bat at it looking to loft this over cover but gets beaten. 

Mustafizur Rahman to Priyansh Arya, A bit of a misfield early on. Think it is Sameer Rizvi. ​​​​​​Nope, Ashutosh Sharma. On a length, around off, Priyansh Arya opens the face of his bat and guides it behind point. Ashutosh gets across to his right and reaches the ball, but fumbles, allowing the single.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, A touch short, around middle, Prabhsimran nudges it through square leg for a single, to get off the mark.

The Capitals had a great start to the season. For the first time in their history, Delhi Capitals won each of their first four games of the season. They won 6 out of their first 8 matches, but couldn't manage to win a single game in their last 5 fixtures this season. It will be Mustafizur Rahman to share the new ball.

Mustafizur Rahman to Prabhsimran Singh, Right on the money. On a length, around off, angling away, Prabhsimran Singh pushes it towards cover.

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Persists with that nagging length around off, Priyansh pushes this towards mid off to end the over with a dot. 

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, ! A good bit of bowling by Mukesh but some clever work with the bat has earned Arya a boundary. Good length around off, Priyansh Arya plays this late and just opens the face of his bat to rin this wide to the first slip fielder to his left for a boundary towards the third man region. 

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Good length, angling into the batter around his pads. Priyansh Arya goes for the flick but gets beaten by the swing on offer and wears it on his thigh pad. 

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Wide!

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Hint of swing. Fuller, around middle and leg, Priyansh covers the swing nicely and blocks it down the track.

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, On a good length to start, just around off, angling away, at 131.1 kph. Priyansh Arya watchfully pushes it towards mid off.

Mukesh Kumar to Priyansh Arya, Slightly shorter than the previous ball, skids through, coming in slightly, 139.7 kph, Arya punches it towards mid off from his crease.

The umpires make their way out to the field. Some last words being spoken amongst the DC huddle. It disperses and out walk the PBKS openers - Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya. It will be Mukesh Kumar to start off proceedings with the new ball. Priyansh Arya will take first strike. A nice breeze is blowing across the ground now, which should help the players. All set then. Here we go!

Interesting calls from both sides. Punjab Kings have opted to drop in a spinner, in that too, Yuzvendra Chahal, not even being named in the impact list. Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have left out the in-form Abishek Porel, but that might be because of the fact that Sediqullah Atal has been creating waves in the T20 circuit. Perhaps the DC management wants to see what more does Afghanistan have to offer in their latest talent. And in this match as well, one will not see Rahul on the fi

The captain of Punjab Kings, SHREYAS IYER, on being asked about the mood in the dressing room after qualifying for the playoffs after 10 years, says that there are happy faces around, with the management equally happy with the 'Q' sign against the team's name. But adds that personally, he is neither saitisfied nor contented, as he wants to build momentum from here around. He explains that there has been a lot of effort to get to this stage and he now wants all those efforts to help them fini

The skipper of Delhi Capitals, FAF DU PLESSIS, on being asked about his decision to bowl, says that he is 50-50 and the decision is purely due to the makeup of his side, which features an extra batter. Faf feels that with that additional batter, he would be better used in the second half. On DC's tournament, du Plessis admits that it has been a kind of a rollercoaster ride with players lacking confidence with things not going their way. Details that unfortunately for his players, when they have

IMPACT NOMINATIONS FOR DELHI - KL Rahul, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Ajay Mandal and Darshan Nalkande.

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI) - Faf du Plessis (C), Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs (WK), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mustafizur Rahman and Mukesh Kumar.

IMPACT NOMINATIONS FOR PUNJAB - Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett and Kyle Jamieson.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI) - Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar and Arshdeep Singh.

TOSS - Time for decision making for the captains. Defend or chase? Will dew be a factor? It is indeed FAF DU PLESSIS who will shepherd the Capitals for one last time this season. The home captain for this game, SHREYAS IYER, flips the coin. Tails is the call from Faf. It turns down as a tail. DELHI CAPITALS ELECT TO CHASE.