Nothing daring in Delhi's dismal show, Kings XI register a thumping 10-wicket win

Photo: BCCI New Delhi: Kings XI Punjab thrashed a hapless Delhi Daredevils by 10 wickets in an IPL encounter in Mohali. Kings XI openers Hashim Amla and Martin Guptill made light work of the paltry 68 run target. Kiwi opener Guptill smashed a 50 of just 27 balls as Punjab cantered home in 7.5 overs. Guptill scored at a strike rate of 185.18 and slammed 3 sixes and 6 fours against a Delhi bowling attack which simply had no hope. Replacing an injured Zaheer Khan, Karun Nair had a nightmarish start to his captaincy career in IPL. Delhi are now placed at the bottom of the table with just 2 wins in 9 games. Sent in to bat, Delhi Daredevils were shot out for their lowest ever IPL total of 67 as the visitors batting slumped to yet another collapse. The middle phase of the IPL is turning out to be a nightmare for the batting sides as more and more teams are folding out even before the completion of 20 overs. This time it was Delhi, who were budled in 17.1 overs. Maxwell’s decision to put the opposition in was backed up by his new ball bowlers Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan. Sandeep has taken T20 new ball bowling to a different level with his controlled swing and subtle variation. He dismantled the Delhi top order by claiming 3 wickets in his first three overs. The visitors were left tottering at 26 for 4 – losing 3 of them to Sandeep. Billings (0), Samson (5), Iyer (6) had no answer to Sandeep, who ended up with his career best figures of 4 for 20 in 4 overs. He later came back to get the wicket of Rabada. Only three of the Delhi batsmen crossed the double figure mark but none looked comfortable on a dismal day of batsmanship. Already missing Zaheer Khan due to injury, Delhi had their hopes pinned on an in-form Sanju Samson and Sam Billings to provide them with a solid start. Losing the top three for 22, Delhi never recovered and slid further to be reduced to 33 for 6 as relentless Punjab continued their good work this time through Axar Patel. Corey Anderson acted as dam in front of flowing wickets but he too couldn’t handle the pressure and played on a Varun Aaron delivery for 18. Apart from Sandeep, Axar Patel (2/22) and Varun Aaron (2/3) were the most impressive of the Kings XI bowlers, who delivered a collective performance on the field.