‘Brainless Cricket’: Batting woes continue for Punjab as Delhi keep playoff hopes alive with magnificent win

Punjab and Delhi faced each other in the 64th match of the Indian T20 League 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. On a pitch that provided quite a bit for the bowlers, the Delhi team completely dominated Punjab to win the match convincingly.

Punjab won the toss in the bat and decided to field first. Delhi was rocked early as Liam Livingstone dismissed David Warner (0 of 1) of the first delivery in the match. Sarfaraz Khan, whom Delhi used as an opener for the match stitched an important partnership of 51 runs from 28 balls along with Mitchell Marsh. This partnership steadied the Delhi ship and also gave them the momentum that they needed at the stage. Sarfraz Khan (32 of 16) was the second wicket to fall for Delhi in the 5th over of the match. Mitchell Marsh however continued strong and built another significant partnership with Lalit Yadav (24 of 21). Yadav was the next batter to be dismissed for Delhi in the 11th over. As the pitch got slower the batter found it difficult to get going. However, it was Marsh (63 of 48) who kept scoring steadily at one end.

The likes of Rishabh Pant (7 of 3) and Rovman Powell (2 of 6) did not trouble the scorers much. It was on the back of Marsh’s brilliant batting exploits that Delhi managed to post a total of 159 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs. Liam Livingstone was the pick of the bowlers for Punjab picking up 3 wickets for 27 runs from four overs. Arshdeep Singh also got 3 wickets but conceded 37 runs from his 4 overs.

Punjab got a good start as Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan were quick to get off the blocks. Bairstow (28 of 15) was the first man to be dismissed by Delhi in the 4th over. Punjab’s score after his dismissal was 38 for 1 and they needed a steady partnership to keep their chase on track. But that partnership never came as they kept losing wickets after this. In a collapse Punjab lost 5 wickets for 14 runs and were completely derailed from the track. The likes Bhanuka Rajapaksa (4 of 5) and Liam Livingstone (3 of 5) failed to leave their impact on the chase. After the end of the 15 overs Delhi were looking down the barrel at 101 for 7. They needed 59 runs from 30 balls but with just 3 wickets in hand, the equation looked far fetched.

Jitesh Sharma was the last hope for Punjab. He was giving a great fight as he scored 44 runs of 34 balls. But his stay was cut short by a brilliant catch by David Warner of the bowling of Shardul Thakur in the 18th over. Although the remaining equation was not a big one but Punjab did not have enough firepower to go over the line. They ultimately finished at a score of  142 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers for Delhi was Shardul Thakur, who picked up 4 wickets for 36 runs from his 4 overs. This win gave a boost Delhi’s chances of playing in the playoffs. It was Delhi’s 7th win in 13 matches and Punjab lost their 7th match in 13 outings.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the match.

What is the hurry Delhi Capitals? You have lost wickets quickly, there are overs left and you are still going after hitting sixes. Will never understand this strategy or I don’t know if there is any strategy at all. #PBKSvsDC

— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) May 16, 2022

That is #RishabhPant, future Indian captain for you. Commentators have nothing to say about that shot selection. Everything looks fine for them with that reckless shot.

If it was #SanjuSamson everyone will start barking against him.#IPL2022 #DCvsPBKS #PBKSvsDC #CricketTwitter

— Rohit (@___Invisible_1) May 16, 2022

https://twitter.com/SushantNMehta/status/1526223997570273280?s=20&t=RWchBHwmB04HnnkopX71Xw

Innings Break!

Delhi Capitals put up a total of 159/7 on the board.#PBKS chase coming up shortly.

Scorecard – https://t.co/twuPEouUzK #PBKSvDC #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/M4h5xO2L4H

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 16, 2022

https://twitter.com/cricketapna1/status/1526222205079547904?s=20&t=RWchBHwmB04HnnkopX71Xw

https://twitter.com/RaghavA33052033/status/1526249499613872128?s=20&t=OkUG0VAIERcvTTCuilDuVw

https://twitter.com/rishisapra92/status/1526245055832670211?s=20&t=cXlvukl6LurKCh-yJriO1Q

Lack of self belief @PunjabKingsIPL #DCvPBKS

— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) May 16, 2022

This Jitesh Sharma packs a punch. Surely, a huge prospect for Punjab Kings in upcoming seasons#IPL2022 #DCvsPBKS #PBKSvDC

— Chenul Wahalathanthri (@Imchenul) May 16, 2022

https://twitter.com/thebharatarmy/status/1526248697880670208?s=20&t=RWchBHwmB04HnnkopX71Xw

@PunjabKingsIPL is one of the worst inconsistent team in IPL. Win one lose one. Brainless cricket as always.
Pitches are slowing and choosing to chase was as stupid decision as anyone can make, that too after winning the last match batting first quiet convincingly.#PBKSvDC

— CEO of Everything (@Nane_RajaHuli) May 16, 2022

@PunjabKingsIPL just needed a partnership to win this match !!!#PBKSvDC

— BIBHU (@CricFreakBK) May 16, 2022

Jitesh sharma is the real gem absolutely terrific performance #PBKSvDC #DCvsPBKS #jiteshsharma #IPL

— Sachin Bhati (@sachii656) May 16, 2022