Young Abhishek Porel's blistering knock helped Delhi Capitals (DC) post a total of 174 runs with the loss of nine wickets, despite Punjab Kings (PBKS) bowlers' outstanding performance in the first innings of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Saturday. PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur here. Two Australian batters, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh opened the innings for the Delhi Capitals. Both batters started off very aggressively and registered a quick 39-run partnership.
The first wicket to fall was of Marsh. He was dismissed in the fourth over on the bowling of Harshal Patel after scoring 20 runs off 12 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes each.
The star West Indies wicketkeeper-batter came next and played a small but a crucial innings for the side. The right-hand batter scored 33 runs from 25 balls which were laced with two boundaries and two sixes each in his inning.
DC skipper Rishabh Pant came after the fall of the second wicket and score only 18 runs in the match, with two fours. Notably, Pant missed the last season because of injuries he sustained during the life-threatening car accident in December 2022.
Star India all-rounder Axar Patel scored crucial 21 runs in 13 balls with two fours and a six. In the end, the visitors brought in Porel as an impact player in place of Ricky Bhui. Porel played an unbeaten quickfire knock of 32 runs off just 10 balls which came at a strike rate of 320 with the help of four boundaries and two sixes.
For the hosts, two wickets each were snapped by Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel in their spell of four overs, where they conceded 28 runs and 47 runs, respectively. One wicket each was grabbed by Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet and Rahul Chahar in their respective spells.