IPL 2024, DC vs PBKS: Not the ideal comeback for Pant as PBKSs prevail over DC

It was not the comeback Rishabh Pant had wished for as English allrounder Sam Currans counterattacking halfcentury powered Punjab Kings to a fourwicket win over Delhi Capitals in their Indian Premier League IPL opener here on SaturdayCurran blazed away to a 47ball 63 and got excellent support from compatriot Liam Livingstone 38 not out off 21 balls as Punjab completed a chase of 175 with four balls to spare This was after the returning Pant failed to set the stage on fire as Punjab Kings rallied to stop Delhi Capitals at 174 for nineBatting at number nine Abhishek Porel topscored for DC with an unbeaten 32 off only 10 balls helping the side to a total that did not pose any problem for Punjab on a pitch with no demonsPunjab Kings began their chase in earnest and raced to 34 in three overs when Shikhar Dhawan 22 off 16 balls charged down the wicket only to miss and see his middle stump getting disturbed by Ishant SharmaAlso Read Sarfaraz Musheer gain from Anand Mahindrarsquos generosityImpact Sub Prabhsimran walked in at number three and Ishant squared him up with one that hit the perfect length and left the batter in two minds Prabhsimrans riposte was a boundary through midoff as the batter showed aggressive intentHaving struck two fours in three balls Jonny Bairstow was run out in an unfortunate fashion as Ishant managed to get his fingertips to a Prabhsimran drive before the ball went on to hit the stumps at the nonstrikers end Bairstow dived but had backed up too far and couldnt win the race against the ballPrabhsimran 27 off 17 balls struck Khaleel Ahmed for two successive fours to relieve the pressure but after having steadied the ship the batter fell to inform wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav who snared him with a googlyKuldeep also accounted for Jitesh Sharma to leave Punjab in a spot of bother at 100 for four in the 12th overEarlier Punjab were put under pressure straightaway by the flamboyant Australian opening duo of David Warner 29 off 21 balls and Mitchell Marsh 20 off 12 balls who were dealing in fours and sixesMarsh worked a poor Sam Curran delivery off his pads for the days first boundary Another mediocre offering from Curran was expertly flicked by Marsh for a four and the Capitals were on their wayNot to be left behind when it comes to playing strokes Warner pulled leftarm pacer Arshdeep Singh 228 for a six in front of square and then played the bowler between coverpoint and cover to find a fourAlso Read T20 World Cup 2024 Imad Wasim comes out of retirementThe flurry of boundaries forced Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan to effect a bowling change but Kagiso Rabadas introduction did little to stem the flow of runs as Marsh pulled a short ball over deep backward square for a big sixArshdeep came back and was whacked over longoff for another gigantic six by Marsh However the leftarm seamer had the last laugh as he had Marsh caught by an agile Rahul Chahar at cover point after the batter played a booming drive in the airUnperturbed by the departure of his opening partner Warner continued to play in his usual aggressive fashion hitting Rabada for a four through midoff and then sat down to use the scoop shot for an incredible maximum over shot fineHarpreet Brar checked the flow of runs by bowling a fine first over but Chahar started with a 14run over with Shai Hope hitting the bowler for a six and a four Harshal Patel 247 got the big wicket of Warner in his first over as comebackman Pant 18 off 13 balls arrived at the crease to loud applause from the standsThe weekend crowd acknowledged his tale of perseverance after surviving a horrific car accident in December 2022 with cheers of joy Pant got himself a couple of boundaries before walking back to the dugout after a rather soft dismissal off Harshal Meanwhile Rabada accounted for Hope and Chahar got rid of Tristan Stubbs as Delhi slipped to 1286 in the 16th overThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever