Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer celebrates their win over Delhi Capitals (ANI Image)
New Delhi: This was the 16th over of the second innings off Arun Jaitley’s pitch. Delhi Capitals player Karun Nair covered his face in shock and then a wry smile appeared. Kings Punjab batsman and skipper Shreyas Iyer also smiled. DC spinner Kuldeep Yadav could do nothing but give a disappointed smile as well.Moments ago, DC spinner Viraj Nigam was a frustrated man on his feet. Nair was shaking his head as he lunged forward to retrieve the ball that had evaded his grasp.
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Twice across three balls, Karun Nair got behind the fielder’s head – at a long and a long delivery, respectively, and missed two chances.In the first over, Iyer, 28, took a big hit, played against the turn, and the leading edge went comfortably towards Nair.
The 34-year-old took a few steps forward, getting his hands underneath him but it wasn’t secure enough.Then, 35-year-old Shreyas miscued Kuldeep Yadav’s pass, and saw the ball heading towards Nair, as the Karnataka player was getting under it, only for it to hit the ground.Perhaps what made matters worse was the fact that just five deliveries ago, substitute Nair was a safe pair of hands at long-on, much closer to the boundary rope, sending Nihal Vadera down again in the 25th over.
Iyer continued to remain unbeaten with 71 runs off 36 balls on the back of three fours and seven sixes. That means 43 more than when Caron dropped him the first time and 36 more after the second.DC captain Axar Patel’s frustration was evident in the post-match display. “We are making the same mistakes over and over again. If you don’t back your bowlers on such wickets, I think you deserve to lose,” he said as PBKS reached 265 runs with seven balls to spare for the highest successful run chase in IPL history, breaking their own record in the process.Karun Nair was not the only player who had a disastrous day on the field. Shashank Singh has been the fielding officer for Punjab this season. He left three catches against Lucknow Super Giants and added one more to that unfortunate tally. Like Caron, the mixture –
Kuala Lumpur Rahul
In this case – in capital letters.The reactions were similar to what would happen later in the day at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The anxiety of seeing the ball heading towards the player from one side is coupled with the excitement of the incoming ball and the impending wicket.KL Rahul pulled a short pass from Arshdeep Singh towards Shashank. Flat shot, comfortable height for Shashank at square leg boundary. However, something went horribly wrong in the reverse cup and her facial expressions changed instantly. Arshdeep’s celebrations and wagging of his fingers turned into surprise. A head turner in the hands of the Delhi Capitals supporter turned to dancing. Meanwhile, Rahul looked up at the sky in prayer.Prayers were needed again on the tenth day. Vijay Kumar Vyshak came in for the second over, and KL Rahul had just crossed the fifty mark. The outside delivery was cut off in a hurry, with Vyshak getting a touch as he followed through but failing to hold on when the ball hit his leg and rolled away to safety.KL Rahul went on to score an unbeaten 152 runs off 67 balls with 16 boundaries and nine sixes. He now holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian in the IPL and the third highest total – behind Chris Gayle (175*) and Brendon McCullum (158*).Again, here’s the math for you. The 34-year-old scored 140 more runs than when he was dropped by Shashank the first time and 101 more after the second time with Vishak.Much will be made, rightly, of the massive PBKS chase heralded by the ‘Sarpanch’, their never-say-die approach and the sheer insanity of a team that has scored 264 runs and still lost. But after 529 runs, 49 boundaries and 33 sixes, it was the four dropped catches that made the big difference.