IPL 2024 - Sam Curran's 63 helps PBKS begin on a winning note, defeat DC by 4 wickets

After posting 174 runs on the board and losing 9 wickets in their 20 overs, Delhi Capitals (DC) believed it was a good enough total, especially at the very new venue of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh. However, the host team Punjab Kings (PBKS) saw their all-rounder Sam Curran go all guns blazing and notch 63 off 47 balls to help his side win by 4 wickets in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

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Sam Curran came in to bat at No. 4, and the impact player Prabhsimran Singh shared a nice little stand for the third wicket. Adding salt to the wounds was DC's poor fielding as they dropped Curran on 33 and at the end Harpreet Brar by David Warner, which surely proved to be costly for them.

Curran went on to smash 6 fours and 1 maximum, but Khaleel Ahmed was introduced, and he brought the excitement back as he claimed 2 wickets and was on a hat-trick in an over.

However, Liam Livingstone finished it off for PBKS as he smashed a SIX in the 19.2 over when the side needed just 4 runs to win. For DC, Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets each, while Ishant Sharma had one to his name.

Earlier, young Indian batter Abishek Porel, who was introduced as the impact sub, delivered by scoring 32 off just 10 balls to help DC reach 174 runs in Match 2 of the IPL 2024. Shai Hope was the top-scorer with 33 runs, while David Warner (29), Mitchell Marsh (20), Rishabh Pant (18), and Axar Patel (21) all had cameos. 

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For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel both took two wickets each, while Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, and Rahul Chahar each claimed one. The other two wickets came from run-outs, with DC finishing at 174-9.

Teams:

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ricky Bhui, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.