Yuvi, Agarwal keep Devils in the hunt

Mayank Agarwal (68) and Yuvraj Singh (55) helped Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab by 5 wickets to register their first win of the eighth season of the Indian Premier League at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium yesterday.

Delhi chased down the 166-run target in 19.5 overs, with five wickets to spare.

Anureet Singh took two consecutive wickets (Yuvraj & Mayank) in the penultimate over to make the match very interesting and tight in the end.

Mayank raced to his fifty off just 37 balls to help Delhi snubbed their 11-match losing streak in the IPL. He smacked two sixes and seven fours in his 48-ball blitzkrieg. The Delhi opener also added a match-winning 106 runs stand for the third wicket with Yuvraj.

Yuvraj smashed three sixes and five boundaries in his 39-ball quick-fire knock. He raced to his fifty off just 33 balls.

Chasing 166-run target, Kings XI lost Shreyas Iyer (6) early in the third over with score reading 23/1 in 2.5 overs.

Mayank added crucial 30 runs for the second wicket with JP Duminy (21) before Delhi skipper was run out in an unfortunate manner at the non-striker’s end.

Pacers Anureet (2-33), Sandeep Sharma (1-30) and spinner Axar Patel (1-28) were the wicket-takers for Kings XI Punjab.

Earlier, Virender Sehwag top-scored with a 41-ball 47 as Punjab posted a competitive 165 for seven against Delhi.

The highlight of the Kings XI innings was the 71-run partnership for the second wicket between opener Sehwag and Wriddhiman Saha (39) after Murali Vijay was out for 19 after the Punjab side opted to bat first.

Sehwag hit four boundaries and two sixes in his useful knock. He hit a six and two fours off successive balls bowled by Delhi premier spinner Imran Tahir in the ninth over.

Sehwag was out in the 15th over after he went for his second six in as many balls off Delhi captain Jean-Paul Duminy only to hole out to Coulter-Nile.

Kings XI were 73 for one at the halfway mark and they added 92 runs from the second 10 overs for the loss of six wickets. Their middle-order batsmen did not have big scores nor any substantial partnership but each of them made quick and useful runs even as wickets fell at regular intervals.

Big hitter Glenn Maxwell made 15 from just five balls with the help of two sixes while captain George Bailey contributed 19 off 11 deliveries. Young Axar Patel scored 13 from 10 balls.

For Delhi, leg-spinner Tahir grabbed three wickets though he was expensive by conceding 43 runs while captain Jean-Paul Duminy got two wickets. Amit Mishra and Angelo Mathews took a wicket each.

Duminy used as many as seven bowlers in the Kings XI innings.