Rizvi special helps DC sign off with a win
Punjab Kings saw their hopes for a top-two finish dented
Punjab Kings saw their hopes for a top-two finish dented
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Sudarshanan and Ekanth
Quite the weekend so far. CSK have the chance to continue the trend of lower-ranked teams beating potential top-twos tomorrow evening when they face GT. See you for that. Thanks for joining in tonight. I'm Ekanth, signing off on behalf of S Sudarshanan and our scorers, M Venkat Raghav and Thilak Ram.
Sameer Rizvi, POTM: Feels good to get the POTM. Have been working hard for 2-3 months about my game. I didn't have confidence before that I'd do well, but it has come after this innings. When I went in, we needed more than 120. I took 4-5 balls, knew that the wicket was good, and then played my shots.
Faf du Plessis, DC captain: Finishing on a high is important. Fifth is a fair reflection of our season, need to be more consistent to be in the top-four. (How'd the season slip after four wins) One of the great mysteries. Combination of confidence, lack of form and basics. When you're playing well, small margins go with you. Every single time, there were five-six over windows in both batting and bowling where we let it slip. Vippy was amazing this season, he was a find for us with the ball, he was good with bat too making him a great asset. Two or three batters who are great as well.
Gotten quite windy as the presentation starts.
Karun Nair: Feels amazing, we truly deserve this. Haven't been at our best. But tonight shows we're a good team that had bad games. I've been hitting the ball really well, came into the tournament with a lot of runs. Confidence was high. I was playing too many shots too early, coaches told me to take my time and then go big. (On Test selection) Grateful to get back, happy and proud and fortunate. Found out like all of you found out. Was eagerly awaiting the call, got a lot of messages from close ones.
Shreyas Iyer, PBKS captain: 207 was a fantastic score on this wicket. There was some variable bounce and it wasn't coming on at the same pace. We weren't disciplined enough with ball. We assessed the wicket and decided to bowl hard lengths at the stumps, but we went overboard with bouncers trying to take wickets. Every team is equally poised in this tournament, you gotta stay positive and calm. We'll come back with a strong set of plans. No issues with the body, just the finger, should be fine for the next game.
Jony k: "And all of a sudden Mumbai Indians are contenders for top 2. Actually strong contenders. TBH" They'll face PBKS too, that'll be juicy
Vishnu : "If CSK beats GT tomorrow, we will have entertainment with suspense guaranteed till last league match."
11:23pm: An eliminated team has beat a qualified team three days in a row now to keep the top-two spots open. All of DC's top-four batters got off to starts, Rahul and du Plessis put on 55. They got out close to each other but Nair and Atal kept going. There were big overs in the middle. The 11th, 13th and 14th in particular. Harpreet kept PBKS in the game with Nair's wicket but Stubbs joined Rizvi to take DC through. Rizvi, by the way, is mostly the POTM. His power hits were fantastic, used the crease nicely and scored heavily behind the wickets. Brar was the pick of the bowlers. Jansen and Omarzai were taken down. Arshdeep bowled okay but went wicketless. PBKS, like DC, couldn't hold onto half-chances in the field.
Third, point, square leg, midwicket and long-on back
Stoinis it will be, just 8 to defend
Can Arshdeep deny another boundary this over? Has fine leg back and long-on in.
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Punjab Kings saw their hopes for a top-two finish dented