IPL 2023, DC vs PBKS Emotional Rollercoaster: Prabhsimran Singh hits heroic innings, Harpreet Brar spins Delhi around & David Warner hits quickfire 50 in vain
Perils of a limited batting lineup
When Liam Livingstone came to the crease on the ninth ball of the first innings on Saturday, it became glaringly obvious that Punjab Kings’ top order ends at the openers.
Delhi’s understanding of the sluggish conditions with the new ball at home has led to their mini-resurgence late in the tournament, with David Warner usually floating in one of his marquee spinners in the powerplay. Veteran Ishant Sharma did not need extraordinary bowling to mop up skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who gave his wicket away cheaply lofting a ball straight to deep square leg after a six, and then Livingstone, who attempted to charge at a length ball and totally missed it to see his stumps knocked over. Shortly after, the introduction of Axar Patel would outfox Jitesh Sharma, who lost his stumps trying to play the ball inside out against the turn.
These were the kind of wickets that middle-order sloggers give away when they are forced into a position where they need to build the innings rather than finish it off, a recurring issue for Punjab this year. It will now be down to Sam Curran to drop anchor again, definitely not the role Punjab wanted him to play when they made him the highest-paid player in auction hory this year.
1️⃣0️⃣3️⃣ runs6️⃣5️⃣ balls🔟 fours6️⃣ sixes
Prabhsimran Singh rose to the occasion and scored a memorable ton 👏🏻👏🏻
Relive his impressive century here 🎥🔽 #TATAIPL | #DCvPBKS https://t.co/XGLeuwmRxK
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 13, 2023
Prabhsimran stands alone
All throughout this IPL season, there has been great debate about the kind of score that justifies playing over 60 balls – half an innings – for a single batsman in modern-day T20, where individual scores prove less effective than a collection of bursts. But few can argue that Prabhsimran Singh’s century at the Kotla – a one-man rescue act – is one of the most crucial of this tournament.
Prabhsimran saw three wickets fall down the other end in the powerplay, and dropped anchor with Sam Curran to build a partnership. He was 53 from 44 balls. He then accelerated after building the base, hitting eight boundaries (two of which cleared the rope) between overs 14-18 before getting out after scoring a 65-ball 103. On a sluggish surface where none of his teammates made more than 20, Prabhsimran single-handedly dragged his side from 43-5 to a fighting total of 167.
Off to a dream start
This game is further proof of why, prior to Saturday, four of the five teams that have won in Delhi did so while chasing. The surface just doesn’t get slower as the dew comes in, and Warner, who used his bowlers very well in the first innings powerplay, set the stage perfectly early in the second.
How about that for a start from @DelhiCapitals in the chase 💪🏻#DC move to 65/0 at the end of powerplay ✅
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/bCb6q4bzdn #TATAIPL | #DCvPBKS pic.twitter.com/RDQ9Ee8mxN
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 13, 2023
Delhi have not set the world alight this IPL, and there have been very few flashes of genuine batting brilliance from any of their top-order batsmen so far. But this was vintage Warner, playing with the field to get to his 50 in just 23 balls. In that time he hit nine fours and a six, each of them with a straight bat and timed to perfection. Arshdeep’s sixth over would see Warner at his best on the day, slapping two successive back-of-the-length deliveries over midwicket for a four and six.
A spirited turnaround ft. @PunjabKingsIPL spinners 😎#DC in all sorts of trouble at the moment as they need 66 off the final six!
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/bCb6q4bzdn #TATAIPL | #DCvPBKS pic.twitter.com/vduJFfnJUy
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 13, 2023
Brar cleans up
Punjab needed a headlining performance from someone with the ball to make sure Prabhsimran’s fighting 100 did not go in vain, and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar did the job.
After Delhi’s brilliant powerplay, their batting lineup was well-placed to not depend on boundaries and get the job done of chasing 168 without much hassle, a situation which turned on its head after Punjab knocked down six wickets in five overs. Four of those were Harpreet’s – a slower and shorter one knocked off Salt’s stumps and then two fullish deliveries that found just enough turn to get Roussow caught in the deep, and later trapped Warner leg before.
Harpreet Brar regered a fabulous 4️⃣-wicket haul and he becomes our 🔝 performer from the second innings of the #DCvPBKS clash in the #TATAIPL 👌🏻
A look at his bowling summary 🔽 pic.twitter.com/oUNCcBQtIW
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 13, 2023
The pick of the bunch was the corker against Manish, pitching it on leg stump to bait him into trying to knock it down to fine leg, before the ball found turn and knocked over the top of his off stump. The fine spin bowling of Harpreet, aided Rahul Chahar, caused Delhi to collapse from 65-0 after six, to 95-6 after 12.
