Delhi Capitals all-rounder Marcus Stoinis scored 53 off 21 balls to help his side finis on 157 for 8 in their 20 overs. He hit seven fours three sixes in his quickfire knock for his side. This came after, he came into bat at number six with Delhi struggling at 87 for 5 in the 15th over of their innings.
Delhi scored 34 off the final two overs to finish strong after half of their side was back in the pavilion inside 15 overs. Shreyas Iyer (39) and Rishabh Pant (31) held the Delhi innings together after the initial breakthroughs but it was Marcus Stoinis who provided the much-needed impetus and injection to the Delhi innings.
Meanwhile, coming into this game, Stoinis was not in the best of form. He struggled to get going during Australia’s limited-overs series against England. Despite being touted as one of the best in the business, he somehow failed to live up to the potential.
Also read: Watch – Rishabh Pant Throws Away His Wicket As Delhi Capitals Struggle Against Kings XI Punjab
However, today was a different day altogether. On a wicket, where every batsman found it difficult to get their timing right, Marcus Stoinis toiled with the bowlers. The quickfire knock which included seven boundaries and three sixes put Delhi Capitals back in the match.
The Twitterverse was treated to some lovely hitting from the Australian all-rounder. This is how they reacted to Stoinis’ masterful innings:
Wow! What a finish. At last Stoinis shows he can be a finisher. Always had it but spent too long playing otherwise. Gives his team a chance now!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 20, 2020
Ricky Ponting right now! 🤗#Stoinis #DCvKXIP #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/rs4qwvOYqb
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) September 20, 2020
Take a freaking bow Stoinis 👏👏👏
— FEDERER 🐐 (@Kohliesque) September 20, 2020
https://twitter.com/MehuIII/status/1307704354808291328?s=20
What a knock Stoinis! Shouldn’t be a problem for @lionsdenkxip though! What say? #KXIPvsDC #IPL
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) September 20, 2020
What a fabulous fifty this from Stoinis! Wow! Delhi were going nowhere until that spectacular knock that has taken them over 152. Didn't seem likely at one point. #DCvsKXIP
— Kritika Naidu (@Kritzika) September 20, 2020
Blinder from Stoinis . Gives #DelhiCapitals quite a few to play with #DCvKXIP
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) September 20, 2020
#CSK use of Sam Curran could spark a trend across first week of #IPL2020. With quarantine reduced and players available for first games across the board, playing in the English summer counts for a lot. #MIvCSK
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) September 19, 2020
Marcus Stoinis has taken the team from a below par score to a match winning total. And further exposed #KXIP death bowling woes. It’s incredible that nobody spoke about it ever…#RCB would’ve been crucified on SM for this. #IPL2020 #DCvKXIP
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 20, 2020
Earlier in the game, Mohammed Shami bowled a spell of 3 for 15 to peg back Delhi Capitals. However, courtesy Iyer and Pant’s 50-run stand, Delhi tried to pull back things but Punjab struck again to break the backbone. However, Marcus Stoinis’ blitz at the end helped Delhi Capitals finish on a par total.
It will now require an outstanding effort from the bowlers to stop Kings XI Punjab, who have a star-studded batting unit led by skipper KL Rahul.
