PBKS vs DC IPL 2024: Sam Curran stars with bat as Punjab Kings seal victory in final over

The new stadium brought bright fortune for Shikhar Dhawan-led Punjab Kings as the home side defeated Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals by 4 wickets in the Northern derby here on Saturday.

After winning the toss and opting to field first, Punjab bowlers were not up to the mark in the powerplay as David Warner and Mitchell Marsh from DC scored 39 runs inside the first 4 overs before Mitchell Marsh was dismissed by Arshdeep Singh.

David Warner and Shai Hope also played handy knocks for Delhi Capitals before the man of the day, Rishabh Pant, who was making his return to competitive cricket was welcomed with the rousing applause from the Punjab Crowd.

Rishabh Pant played a few of his trademark shots before getting dismissed on 18. It was Abhishek Porel, who came in as the impact sub, who led the Delhi innings to an impressive score of 174 as he smashed 25 runs in the final over which was bowled by Punjab's new recruit Harshal Patel.

Coming to the Punjab Chase, Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow went all guns blazing from the onset before both were dismissed in the 4th over. Prabhsimran Singh, who came in as an impact substitute scored 26 in 17 deliveries while Jitesh Sharma was stumped by the comeback-man Rishabh Pant.

Punjab Needed 75 in 51 deliveries when Liam Livingstone arrived at the crease and he along with Sam Curran played cautiously at the start before taking the aggressive route.

The duo added 67 runs for the 5th wicket and with 8 required in 10 deliveries, Khaleel Ahmed dismissed Sam Curran and Shashank Singh in back-to-back deliveries leaving out Punjab to require 6 runs in the final over.

It was Liam Livingstone who took Punjab over the line with a mighty six and Punjab started off their season on a high at their new home ground.

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