Kamal Ghorui
Punjab Kings pulled off the highest successful run chase in Indian Premier League (IPL) history on Saturday by chasing down 265 against Delhi Capitals in Delhi, but DC’s fielding mistakes played a big part in the result.PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer got two major lifelines during the chase and made Delhi pay with a 71-run knock off 36 balls.
The first chance came on the last ball of the 15th over when Vipraj Nigam had Iyer mistiming a lofted shot straight towards long-off. Karun Nair moved a few steps forward, settled under the ball and should have completed a simple catch, but the ball slipped out of his hands.After the dropped chance, Vipraj Nigam sat down on the ground holding his head in disappointment.Just four balls later, Iyer survived again.On the second ball of the 16th over, Kuldeep Yadav bowled a length delivery and Iyer tried to pull it. The ball went high towards long-on after taking the top edge. Once again, Karun Nair was the fielder under it, but he dropped the chance for the second time.It was Kuldeep’s wrong’un, and despite the ball going high enough for a clear opportunity, the catch was missed.After being dropped twice in the span of four balls, Iyer stayed on and made the most of the chances, scoring 71 off 36 balls to help Punjab complete the record chase.Chasing 265, PBKS openers Prabhsimran Singh (76 off 26b; 9×4, 5×6) and Priyansh Arya (43 off 17b; 2×4, 5×6) unleashed their beast mode, putting on a 126-run opening stand in just 6.5 overs, posting season’s highest power play score of 105/0.They lost three wickets in quick succession but skipper Shreyas Iyer, made full use of his repreives, to anchor the record chase with seven balls to spare.
