When is Delhi Capitals' next match in IPL 2024?
Delhi Capitals (DC) commenced their IPL 2024 campaign on Saturday (March 23) with a heartbreaking four-wicket loss against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Rishabh Pant made his much-awaited comeback to competitive cricket with this match after being on the sidelines for over 15 months. It was also the first match for PBKS at their new home venue, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.
PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and invited their opponents to bat first, as he wanted to gauge the conditions at the new venue before batting on it. It turned out to be the right decision, as the pitch remained good for 40 overs.
DC's destructive batting line-up failed to fire in the opening match as they could find themselves at 147/8 in 18.3 overs. Abhishek Porel (32* in 10 balls) played a fiery cameo in the end to ouch the score to a respectable 174/9 in 20 overs.
In reply, PBKS chased down the target in 19.2 overs to bag a comfortable victory. All-rounder Sam Curran (63) led the charge for them with the bat, scoring an anchoring half-century, while Prabhsimran Singh (22) and Liam Livingstone (38*) extended their support with handy knocks.
Delhi Capitals will look to leave behind the loss and make a comeback when they face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their next match in IPL 2024 on Thursday (March 28) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
"The wicket played exactly how we expected it to"- Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant after defeat against PBKS in IPL 2024
Speaking after the conclusion of the match against Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant reflected on the defeat and said:
"Not the first time I was feeling nervous. Happy about that but at the same time, I think we had a par score. We were already one bowler short because of the Impact Player substitution and then Ishant's injury left us even short. But can't do much about it, it's part and parcel of the game. The wicket played exactly how we expected it to."
Pant added:
"We won't make any excuses but having one bowler short wasn't ideal. Well played to them though. It was an amazing innings (by Abhishek Porel). It set the innings up for us. Congratulations to him - he's pretty new but the impact he made was pretty big. Really looking forward to him this season."
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