IPL 4 Match 60: Kings XI Punjab Outbeat Daredevils in Dharamsala; Valthaty Scores

The Kings XI Punjab kept their date with Dharamsala's first IPL 4 match as they beat the Delhi Daredevils by twenty-nine runs to keep their hopes alive.

paul valthaty kxip 4

The Kings XI Punjab gave the fans at the Himachal Pradesh cricket association stadium plenty to cheer about with Paul Valthaty flowing with form yet again in a striking innings for sixty-two runs that covered the early dismissal of his skipper, Adam Gilchrist, cheaply to Morne Morkel.

Valthaty's partnership with Shaun Marsh yet again as the duo raised 102 runs for the second wicket that pumped up the KXIP innings. Marsh made forty-six runs from only twenty-eight balls to once again emphasize how crucial he has been for the Kings XI Punjab's resurrection recently.

Although Irfan Pathan and Avishkar Salvi produced wickets intermittently to share five wickets between them, the Kings XI Punjab were fairly secure in their total of 170 for the loss of six wickets at the end of their twenty overs.

Delhi Dardevils are a position of nothing to lose, failing to make the IPL 4 play offs. However, the top order tried to make a fist of matters despite the fact that their captain, Virender Sehwag, is no longer part of the plans and James Hopes is left with leading the side for the remainder of the IPL 4 season. Naman Ojha and David Warner brought up a half century with no loss but wickets thereafter proved to be a hindrance for the visitors.

Delhi Daredevils crashed from fifty-two for no loss to ninety-seven for six with the loss of Hopes even as they attempted to bridge the gap between the balls remaining and runs required. Without an innings of significance to follow up on the start given by the openers, the Delhi team was struggling as Piyush Chawla picked up three wickets after Sulabh Srivastava gave the KXIP their big breakthroughs at the top for a twenty-nine run victory.