Punjab Vs Delhi Daredevils

All-round show helps Kings XI stay afloat in 

IPL-4

Dharamsala, May 15 (PTI): Kings XI Punjab produced a clinical all-round performance to score a comprehensive 29-run win over bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils to keep their play-off hopes alive in the Indian Premier League here today.

The Punjab side first notched up 170 for six after being sent into bat with Paul Valthaty (62) and Shaun Marsh (47) scoring the bulk of the runs and later restricted Delhi to 141 for eight at the picturesque HPCA Stadium.

Chasing 171 for a win, Delhi felt the absence of captain Virender Sehwag, who had to leave the team for a shoulder surgery, as their batsmen failed to make any substantial contribution. David Warner top-scored with a run-a-ball 29.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who was left out of India's ODI squad for the West Indies tour, grabbed an impressive 3/16 while Shalabh Srivastava took two wickets for 39 runs. Praveen Kumar, Ryan Harris and Valthaty chipped in a wicket apiece on a pitch which offered help to pacers and spinners alike.

With the win today, their third on the trot, KXIP have collected 12 points from 12 matches to remain in the hunt for a top four finish.

The Delhi openers were denied a strong start with the KXIP bowlers sticking to a disciplined line and length and extracting bounce and turn from the pitch.

Naman Ojha (28) and Warner could hit just a four and a six in the first five overs though the former hit two sixes and a four off Srivastava to take 17 runs from the sixth over.

Ojha's struggle ended in the eighth over as Srivastava had the last laugh by inducing him an outside edge to Gilchrist behind the stumps.

Hard-hitting Warner hit two fours off Valthaty in the ninth over but perished in the next over while trying to accelerate the scoring rate.

The Australian danced down the track to hoick a Srivastava delivery only to get the leading edge and ballooned high into the air for Gilchrist to take the catch.

Sridharan Sriram (4) was then done in by a Piyush Chawla googly and the batsman top-edged while attempting a sweep shot for Dinesh Karthik to take the catch.

Karthik was, however, guilty of not taking the catch of Venugopal Rao (16) in the 13th over as he touched the ropes while holding the ball on the air to concede a six.

Venugopal Rao, however, failed to capitalise on the Karthik mistake as he was out next over with Chawla had him holing out to long-off fielder Ryan Harris to take KXIP closer to victory.

Irfan Pathan (3) soon fell to Valthaty before Chawla again was involved in the thick of things by removing Delhi stand-in skipper James Hopes (7).

By the time Hopes was out, the asking rate had shot up to more than 17 an over and Harris produced a spectacular catch near the boundary line to get rid of Travis Birt (16) off the bowling of Praveen Kumar.