Kagiso Rabada once again proved to be the 'King of Super Over' after Marcus Stoinis's star turn with both bat and ball ensured a thrilling Super Over win for Delhi Capitals in an IPL encounter against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.
It was Stoinis whose late assault saw Delhi reach 157/8 in 20 overs with his 53 off 21 balls and 57 in the last three doing the trick.
In reply, KXIP were looking down the barrel with half of the side back in the pavilion, before Mayank Agarwal's 89 off 60 balls took them to 157. Stoinis, however, came back to strike a double blow in the final two balls to set up a Super Over finish.
Both the teams ended with score of 157 for eight and when it spilt to a Super Over, South African pacer Rabada conceded only two runs and took two wicket off successive balls to tilt in the favour of Delhi Capitals.
Rabada had pulled off a stunning Super Over even the last year against Kolkata Knight Riders and like Andre Russell, this time it was Nicholas Pooran, who got a lethal yorker.
It was difficult for Mohammed Shami to defend two runs, but it was his exceptional spell that had put the Capitals on the mat as they had not crossed 100-run mark even after 16 overs but Stoinis' whirlwind knock lifted the Delhi side.
Stoinis's timely and gritty batting ensured that the repair work done by skipper Shreyas Iyer (39) and Rishabh Pant (31) did not go waste.
Mayank Agarwal emerged an unlikely batting hero, bringing Punjab back from nowhere. But he was dismissed when only one run was needed off the last ball of the innings but Chris Jordan could not score the final run, giving Stoinis his wicket and the match was tied.
In Punjab's chase skipper K.L. Rahul (21) was first to go and then India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin sent back Karun Nair (1) and Nicholas Pooran (0) in space of five balls. It, though, did not end well for Ashwin, whose dive off the last ball to stop a single resulted in a freak shoulder injury, as he landed on his left arm, and he left the field.
True to his reputation, Agarwal held one end, hitting seven fours and four sixes.
Earlier, on a pitch which had a tinge of grass, the ball was swinging and pacer Shami relished the bowling on a helpful track. His wicket-taking and run-choking act served the Punjab side well.
It was a pitch that required patience from the batsmen but reckless shots was how Delhi Capitals began after being invited to bat, with Prithvi Shaw (5) paying the price for his extravagance and Shimron Hetmyer (7) failing to check his shot.
Shikhar Dhawan (0) was run out to a horrible mix-up and the scoreboard was not a pleasant sight for the Delhi side at 13 for 3.
Iyer and Pant, however, managed to raise a 73-run stand for the fourth wicket.
