Australia’s Marcus Stoinis smashed a whirlwind half-century as Delhi Capitals edged out Kings XI Punjab in a super-over thriller after the second match of the Indian Premier League ended in a tie on Sunday.
Stoinis proved his worth for Delhi, who brought the all-rounder in the December auction, with his 21-ball 53 to lift the side to 157 for eight after being put into bat in Dubai.
Mayank Agarwal nearly trumped the batting blitz with his 89 off 60 balls as Punjab closed in on their target but Stoinis claimed two wickets on successive balls in the final over to take the match into a super over.
“It’s a weird game, sometimes the luck goes your way, but it’s easy to become the villain from the hero. So it’s important to enjoy the good days,” said Stoinis.
“It’s nice that the IPL has gotten going again, and tonight has been great entertainment.”
Delhi’s South African quick Kagiso Rabada struck twice in the super over to limit Punjab to just two runs as the loss of two wickets in the over ended the team’s one-over innings.
Earlier, Delhi were reeling at 87 for five after the departure of captain Shreyas Iyer when Stoinis walked in to demolish the opposition bowling, getting 57 runs for the batting side in the last 18 balls.
Stoinis punished England paceman Chris Jordan, who gave away 30 runs from the final over with the Australian slamming a 20-ball half-century before being run out on the penultimate ball of the innings.
Indian paceman Mohammed Shami returned figures of 3-15 from his four overs for Punjab.
Punjab were struggling when Delhi off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets in his first and only over before retiring hurt with an injured shoulder.
The world’s richest Twenty20 league is being played in the United Arab Emirates after being shifted out of India due to rising coronavirus cases.
