PBKS vs DC Highlights, IPL 2024: Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran spoil Rishabh Pant’s comeback as Punjab win by four wickets

Rishabh Pant says that getting one bowler short due to Ishant Shrm's injury made it tough for his side. Thinks the score was about par thanks to Porel's innings. Punjab's Livingstone says the pitch got better for batting after the lights came on so the toss probably helped them too. 

Punjab Kings begin life at the new venue with a 4-wicket win and four balls to spare. Livingstone smashes a six over midwicket, to finish unbeaten on 38 off 21 balls. 

Punjab Kings begin life at the new venue with a 4-wicket win and four balls to spare. Livingstone smashes a six over midwicket, to finish unbeaten on 38 off 21 balls. 

Sumit Kumar is not having a debut to remember, ate up deliveries while batting and now 2 wides to start the final over. 4 off 6.

DAVID WARNER, what have you done! Khaleel should have had a third wicket in that over, and it should have been a dot ball. Warner drops Harpreet at long, an absolute sitter. 6 off 6 for PBKS now and importantly Livingstone on strike. 

ANOTHER ONE! Khaleel, alright alright alright. Short ball and Shashank's pull is safely taken by Pant. If anyone can lose this match it will be Punjab. 

Khaleel strikes, Curran is bowled but too little too late for DC. A fine innings from England allrounder as he falls after a good innings. 

Curran b Ahmed 63 (47 balls)

A nightmare outing with the ball for Marsh as he concedes 52 runs, Livingstone finishes it with a six. DC pacers have just not come to the party today. PBKS need just 10 off 12 balls.

Meanwhile in Kolkata. Pat Cummins has won the toss and SRH will be bowling first against KRR. 

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SAM CURRAN! That Stubbs dropped catch looks like it cost DC the match potentially. Curran hits a six and four, as Marsh continues to leak runs. The half century partnership as well between these two now. PBKS are all but home. 

Once again, pacers are letting down Delhi. Khaleel's ordinary day continues as he concedes two boundaries to Livingstone, streaky as one was. PBKS need 28 off 18 balls. 

Time for a timeout. Punjab need 39 off 24 balls. Very doable, given DC don't quite have any genuinely great death bowling options. 

HALF CENTURY FOR SAM CURRAN! The first of this IPL season. It's not always been smooth but he has gotten there off 39 balls and looks set to take his side past the finish line. Axar bowls out for 0/25 in his 4 overs. DC might struggle to contain these next few overs, one thinks. 

Nightmare over for DC and Mitch Marsh. Two horror deliveries early on Curran, short and wide put away for four then short and on hips pulled away. Livingstone finishes the over with a lovely pickup shot for six. That Stubbs drop appears costly already. 

Kuldeep finishes with superb figures of 2/20 in his four overs. Really should have been three wickets as Curran survived that chance. PBKS need 63 off 6 overs, starting to get away from them.

Aggressive move by Rishabh and DC to bring on Kuldeep for his fourth over. Oh dear, Stubbs puts it down! Curran trying to go down the ground once again beaten by Kuldeep's flight. Dropped at long on. 

Tight over from Axar, just five runs off it. Rishabh would like a wicket or two from Axar but he has kept things tight. Great fielding against by Warner in that over to prevent a four. PBKS need 67 off 42 balls. Livingstone holds the key here. Curran on 33 off 27. 

RISHABH PANT, you beauty! Another wrong 'un another wicket for Kuldeep Yadav but this is all Rishabh. Jitesh misses his reverse sweep completely. Rishabh gathers this well and the stumps are broken in no time. Jitesh in a tangle, outside the crease. 

Jitesh st Pant b Kuldeep 9 (9 balls)

Expensive first over for Sumit as he concedes a couple of boundaries. 

‘Bring it on’ went a promotional poster from Delhi Capitals with Ishant Sharma trying to work up anger. For two wonderful overs, he showed there was no worries about his skill but it was going to be about his fitness. He had Shikhar Dhawan in a tangle before bowling him, as the left-handed opener tried a slog to jail-break against Ishant’s nagging movement. Rishabh Pant was alert enough to spot Ishant’s movement that he shouted out to someone on field that it was moving and a slip would remain. Ishant even made an excellent diving half-stop to his right on follow-through, and the ball ran off his fingers to the stumps to run out the non-striker Jonny Bairstow, whose nightmarish two-month long tour of India seems not to end for now. In the middle, Ishant was huffing and puffing on field, and in the next over when he stopped a ball at the deep, and was setting himself for a throw, his leg gave way - and he collapsed in pain. The ankle seemed to have twisted and one look at him was enough for the physio to get him off the field - and Ishant hobbled away with their help, arms around the shoulder of the trainer and the physio. Time will tell the seriousness of the injury.

Oh would have been a big wicket first ball for Sumit Kumar. Rishabh Pant standing up to the medium pacer. Down the leg, really good stumping attempted by Pant. But Jitesh has gotten back in time. 

Good over from Kuldeep and DC have a foothold back in the gam. Jitesh is the new batter in, will he be off to a fast start once more as he did regularly last year? 

Kuldeep does his trick! Flighted delivery, back of the hand wrong one, outside the offstump. Prabhsimran can only find Warner at long on who doesn't make a mistake. 

Prabhsimran c Warner b Kuldeep Yadav 26 (17 balls)

Curran and Singh are doing this nice and easy. Not much risk in this partnership, they are occasionally finding the boundaries too. The required rate is in check as they take 8 off Axar's over. 

It is indeed Kuldeep bowling in tandem with Axar. It was shaping to be a decent over with four singles off the first four balls but Sam Curran makes it about a par one for Punjab with a nice flick through square for four. Time for a timeout as teams take stock. Tough to stay who is ahead here, given PBKS' talent for collapses.

This is a hugely important phase of the match you'd imagine. The direction is going to be dictated by how Axar and Kuldeep fare. Axar starts with a tidy over. DC use a review for LBW against Prabhsimran but it is missing leg stump 

The Impact Player rule has certainly had it's impact on the league in the first year, with more specialists getting a chance in one innings instead of possible all-rounders chipping in. But on Saturday in Mullanpur, we perhaps the most impactful use of the rule. With their batting unit struggling, Delhi Capitals took a punt to bring in Abishek Porel in place of Ricky Bhui. Ordinarily, bowling 2nd, they would have liked to bring a bowler in.

But the left-handed batter was sent in to prop up the batting effort and he responded by smashing 25 runs off the final over that was bowled by Harshal Patel to finish on 32* off 10 balls. He revealed in the mid-innings chat that he was told to get ready 3 overs or so before he went in, and in little time, he rewarded Delhi for their tactical tweak.

It's a very slow and painful walk off the pitch for Ishant Sharma. DC have already used their Impact Sub so they are probably going to have to reshuffle their bowling plans once more. Decent over from Marsh after being hit for a four first ball by Curran. It is overall a good powerplay for Punjab, despite those two wickets. They are going at 10 an over. 

OH DEAR! Ishant Sharma falls on his side, twisting his ankle as he picked up the ball. That looked really nasty and he is in a lot of pain. He is being helped off the pitch. That doesn't look nice at all. 

Was shaping into a decent over from Khaleel but he remains expensive as Prabhsimran finishes with back-to-back boundaries either side of the wicket. PBKS not taking foot off the pedal. Sam Curran, by the way, is the new batter in. 

BAIRSTOW RUN OUT! Ishant Sharma, the young man with a super effort. Prabhsimran drives one down the ground, the tall man gets down quickly, gets a finger to it and Bairstow is caught short at the non-striker's. 

IMPACT SUB ALERT: Prabhsimran Singh (unsurprisingly) is the player brought in (think for Arshdeep Singh) and he starts off with two fours off two balls. The first is a streaky outside edge, Ishant unlucky. Next is struck well past mid off. 

Delhi man gets Delhi man! Ishant Sharma, after a poor start, finished his first over strongly. And at the start of his 2nd over, he castles Dhawan! Down the track, but there is no room this time and the ball crashes into middle stump. 

Dhawan b Ishant 22 (16 balls)

Mitch Marsh into the attack, width on offer again and Dhawan flays it behind point for four. Tries that shot again later in the over but Warner with a magnificent fielding effort to prevent a boundary. 

Better from Ishant as the over went on, tightening his line and getting the ball to straighten after angling in from around the middle stump line. Tough to bowl that, great seam position there. 

Oh dear. This is a nightmare start for Delhi. Three wides from Ishant around the wicket and way outside off to Shikhar. In between those, a four for the PBKS captain but that was a missed chance. The sun has bothered the fielders today and Axar didn't pick it. At point, he lets it through. Would've been a catch if he had picked it up. 

What a start for Punjab. Any of that momentum that Abishek's cameo gave, quickly taken away by Shikhar and Bairstow as they both hit two fours each in the first over by Khaleel. Ordinary start from the left-arm pacer, giving room to both openers who are so good on the offside when they can free their arms. 

Confirmation that Rishabh Pant will indeed keep wickets as well as we saw him go through the paces before the match. Punjab need 175 to win, the pitch didn't seem to have too many demons but DC do have a good spin attack. The 8 overs from Kuldeep and Axar going to be key you think. Shikhar and Bairstow in the middle. Khaleel to start off. 

Abhishek Porel on his cameo: "I came to know I was going in to bat 3 overs before as the sub. But the support staff had alreay told me be ready as you are one of the impact players, so I was prepared. My plan was to hit the ball where it came from. "

Rest of their tactics questionable but is that one of the best uses of Impact Player so far in IPL? Absolutely stunning from Abishek Porel, as he smashes 4, 6, 4, 4, 6 and a single off the last ball before Kuldeep is run out. Harshal Patel's PBKS debut ends with a massive over, he was good otherwise. 47/2 for him. Porel though, what a substitution. Finshes with 32 off 10 balls. DC with some late momentum. 

Harshal Patel to bowl the last over. Over to Abhishek Porel to make some impact on this game. 

Just as we say that, Sumit's struggles come to an end. Around the wicket, full length delivery, finds the outside edge that is taken easily by Jitesh. 

It's been a struggle for Sumit Kumar, he is barely able to put bat on ball. 2 off 8 at the moment. 

Was shaping into a really good over by Harshal but spoiled in the end by a late cut by Porel for four. Thick edge almost but placed well. Arshdeep will now come into bowl the 19th over. Can DC push past 160? 

Not sure if this was DC's Plan A but they have brought in Abhishek Porel, the left-handed batter to replace Ricky Bhui. 

This is a disaster for Delhi alright. Axar Patel taps one to square leg and wants to retain strike, comes back for a 2 but is just short. He is out for 21 off 13 balls. 

Rabada finishes his day's work with 1/36. DC limping to a finish here. Need a couple of big overs. Harshal comes back for the 18th, will likely bowl the 20th as well. 

Another debutant in Sumit is the new man in as he joins Axar, who has to do some massive heavylifting here if DC are to reach a decent total. Rabada comes back to finish his spell. 

STUBBS OUT! Chahar has his first wicket. Stubbs is known for his big-hitting but he doesn't contribute much. Super catch by Shashank Singh (yes, that man that PBKS *actually* wanted) at long off. The wheels have fallen off for DC. 

Stubbs c Shashank b Chahar 5 (8 balls) 

Axar Patel is off to a good start here. A first-ball four in the previous over. A superb cut past point off Arshdeep for another boundary. His batting was a bright spot for DC in a sorry campaign last time, they need him once again. 

Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs have a lot of work to do here. DC's batting lineup looks to be lopsided. Another wicket here and they could be in for a largely under-par score. 

Ricky Bhui gone for 3! DC are faltering here big time. This is what happens when you top-load your batting lineup with overseas batters. Jitesh takes a good catch down the leg side, immediately calls for a review and there is a glove. Harpreet has earned this wicket. 

Bhui c Jitesh b Harpreet 3 (7 balls)

Rishabh Pant's comeback ends as a brief cameo with the bat. Harshal Patel dropped him last over but picks up the wicket now, short ball guided loopily to point. Not the innings that Delhi would have hoped for but as Steve Smith and Stuart Broad mentioned pre-match, it is just good to have him back in action, irrespective of how he went today. DC though in trouble here, mainly because their top order hasn't converted. 

Rishabh Pant dropped! Ordinary cricket all around, to be honest. Absolute stinker of a short ball, Pant tries to power it over midwicket but there is not enough elevation. Should be taken by Harshal at deep midwicket but he seems to have lost the flight of the ball in the sun. Gift of a four for Rishabh. 

Ricky Bhui is the new batter in. DC's top three have been guilty of throwing away starts. Now they are facing a middle order rebuild. If Pant was hoping for a pressure-free kinda start, not to be. 

Rabada strikes! Six and out. Shai Hope lofts one through midwicket for six, next ball he finds the fielder at cover. Rabada strikes just as coach Trevor Bayliss was saying from the sidelines that he is their strike weapon.

Hope C Harpreet b Rabada 33 (25 balls)

Rishabh Pant trying to take charge but seems understandably rusty. Dances down to Chahar, couldn't get to pitch of the ball but manages to get his body behind it to avoid getting stumped. Brings out the reverse sweep next ball but finds the fielder. A four for Hope in that over makes it a decent one for DC. 

Another really good over from Harpreet. Rishabh gets off the mark with a dab through midwicket. That should ease the nerves a bit. Time for a timeout. PBKS will be happy they have pulled things back a bit. 

DAVID WARNER GONE! Harshal Patel into the attack, PBKS' big-money signing. Warner, playing with an open stance and a stable base with his feet rooted to the leg stump, manages to drive one through cover for four. Good recovery from Harshal. The bouncer comes out off the last ball of the over, it brushes the glove and taken by Jitesh Sharma. Review by PBKS and the decision is overturned. 

Warner c Jitesh b Harshal 29 (21 balls)