Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals saw a thrilling encounter as the match boiled down to the Super Over at the Dubai International Stadium. Although Kagiso Rabada guided Delhi to victory, Punjab skipper KL Rahul joined an elusive IPL list of Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara.
A maverick from Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis helped Delhi Capitals put a decent total on the board. Capped by seven boundaries and three sixes, Stoinis guided Delhi to 157 runs. Although it didn’t look much at the halfway stage, but a top-order collapse made things difficult for Kings XI.
Rahul joins an elusive list in IPL
But Marcus Stoinis – Delhi’ lucky charm once again joined the party to dismiss Mayank and Chris Jordan off the last two deliveries to finish the game in a tie. It all boiled down to the Super Over, where Kagiso Rabada first got KL Rahul with a pace short ball that the KXIP skipper top-edged only as far as Axar Patel at midwicket.
He then sent Nicolas Pooran’s off-stump for a walk as the West Indian attempted a wild swing and got nowhere close to connecting bat with ball. There was no more drama in store as DC walked to their target of three to sneak through in what turned out to be quite the thriller.
Despite e painful defeat, KL Rahul achieved a personal feat. Rahul became the fifth player to lead, keep wickets, and open the batting for an IPL franchise in the history of IPL. Before Rahul, the same feat has been achieved by Australian batting maestro Gilchrist, former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman McCullum, Sri Lankan great Sangakkara, and Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul will be desperate to power Kings XI Punjab to winning ways when they lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore on September 25.
