Last night’s IPL 2023 match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was a trailblazing thriller that was decided only in the final over. Punjab Kings needed 33 runs to win off the final over and despite the massive target in the last over, till the fourth delivery, it seemed like PBKS could pull it off. Afterall it was Liam Livingstone who was steering the wheel for the Kings and we got to see a very entertaining final over.
Talking about the match, PBKS won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, Delhi Capitals were simply phenomenal. Thanks to the brilliant knocks by Rilee Rossow (82* off 37), Prithvi Shaw (54 off 38) and David Warner (46 off 31), they were able to put up a total of 213 at an expense of 2 wickets only. It was one of their best batting displays so far this season.
Coming in to chase, Punjab Kings were off to a terrible start as captain Shikhar Dhawan departed for a duck. However, Atharva Taide’s 55 off 42 and Liam Livingstone’s 94 off 48 kept PBKS’ hopes alive till the very end.
As mentioned earlier, they needed a massive 33 runs in the final over. The very experienced Ishant Sharma had the ball and he was facing in-form Liam Livingstone. After giving a dot in the first ball, the next two deliveries went for a 4 and a 6 respectively. The fourth delivery of the over was ruled a no-ball and was hit for a 6 as well. Thus, 7 runs came off of it.
It was this no-ball decision that led to a heated argument between the umpires and David Warner (along with Ishant Sharma). Warner even reviewed the decision. However, it was shown that the delivery was clearly over the waist.
— Vivek Choudhary (@iVickyChoudhary) May 18, 2023
Ishant Sharma was quick to make a comeback in the last three deliveries. The 4th and 5th balls were dots and he picked up Livingstone’s wicket in the last delivery. Thus DC won the match by 15 runs and ended PBKS’ playoffs dream.