In a nutshell
Delhi Daredevils put in yet another clinical performance to record their second win of the Indian Premier League 2017 as they beat Kings XI Punjab by 51 runs at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Saturday. Thanks to a half-century from Sam Billings and a quickfire 22-ball 39 from Corey Anderson, DD, playing their first home game of the season, posted a huge 188/6 and then produced a terrific display with the ball too, ripping apart the KXIP batting line-up to keep them to 137/9 in 20 overs. As is evident from our win probability graph (see the graph here), the Daredevils dominated this game entirely.
Find the entire quantitative summary here.
How it unfolded
Chasing a target of 189, KXIP got off to a worst possible start as they lost Manan Vohra and Wriddhiman Saha in a span of 12 balls, courtesy Shahbaz Nadeem. Hashim Amla, who looked good for his 19, was soon sent back to pavilion by Chris Morris. Eoin Morgan tried to stabilise the innings but after his departure, no one else really got going. Axar Patel played a good 44-run knock towards the end but it eventually ended in a losing cause. Earlier, Sam Billings’ second IPL fifty and a quickfire 39 from Corey Anderson propelled DD to 188/6.
Where the game was won
The two openers for Delhi, Sam Billings and Sanju Samson powered the Delhi side to a 49 run stand in the powerplay over. After this, the Daredvils never looked back. The consistent loss of wickets for Kings XI with some steady bowling from Morris and Cummins and a great cameo by Nadeem all but sealed the deal for Delhi.
What this means for the tournament
The win put Delhi to the third position with an amazing net run rate of 2.22, while for Kings XI Punjab, they are at fifth position although with same points, but Delhi with a match still in hand.