IPL 2018 KXIP vs DD: Rahul's breezy 51 powers Punjab to 6-wicket win

Chandigarh: The fastest IPL half-century off just 14 deliveries by Lokesh Rahul helped Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) register an easy 6-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils (DD) in their opening match of Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium here on Saturday.

Rahul scored a breezy 51 off only 16 deliveries with 6 fours and 4 exquisite sixes. His knock set the stage for KXIP to chase down a modest target of 167 runs. His opening partner Mayany Agarwal, however, hit a beautiful six of the cover drive but could not add more than 7 runs off 5 deliveries.

Yuvraj Singh smashed a four off the second delivery he faced but struggled to middle the ball in his 22-ball inning which fetched 12 runs only. Karun Nair also scored a defining half-century but got out immediately after touching the mark. He scored 50 runs off 33 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes.

David Miller and Marcus Stoinis remained unbeaten till KXIP crossed the line. Miller scored 24 runs off 23 balls while Stoinis played a quick cameo of 22 runs off only 15 balls hitting 2 boundaries.

Also Read: IPL 11 KKR vs RCB: Kolkata wins toss, Bangalore to bat

Trent Boult, Chris Morris, Daniel Christian and Rahul Tewatia picked up a wicket each while Mohammed Shami and Amit Mishra not only remained wicket-less but were hit for too many runs.

Earlier after being put in to bat first, DD posted a healthy score of 166 runs for the loss of 7 wickets with the help of a fighting half-century by skipper Gautam Gambhir (55 off 42, 5 fours, 1 six) and belligerent cameos by Rishabh Pant (28 off 13, 4 fours, 1 six) and Chris Morris (27 off 16, 1 four, 1 six).

IPL’s youngest debutant Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohit Sharma picked up two wickets each while skipper Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel bagged one scalp each.