Liam Livingstone and Arshdeep Singh picked three wickets each as Punjab Kings restricted Delhi Capitals to 159/7 in their 20 overs at the D.Y Patil Stadium here on Monday. For Delhi, Mitchell Marsh hung around to top-score with a 48-ball 63, laced with four boundaries and three sixes on a pitch which is slow and offering turn to spinners.
David Warner took a strike at the last moment on seeing Livingstone take the ball. But the move backfired spectacularly as Warner slashed hard at a length ball outside the off-stump, which bounced and held a little, taking a thick edge to backward point.
Marsh began from where he left off in his 89 against Rajasthan Royals, lofting down the ground and flicking over deep mid-wicket for taking consecutive sixes off Kagiso Rabada. Sarfaraz Khan stepped up to play a sizzling cameo of 32 off 16 balls, taking the attack to Harpreet Brar and Rishi Dhawan, hitting five fours and a six, with the scoop being the standout.
But Arshdeep ended Sarfaraz's entertaining stay with a slower ball which the batter completely mistimed to mid-on. The left-arm pacer could have got Lalit Yadav out for a first-ball duck if he had not overstepped at the crease.
From there, Marsh and Lalit shared a 47-run stand off 38 balls for the third wicket. Arshdeep finally made amends by taking out Lalit with a slower bouncer which he ramped straight to backward point.
Livingstone came back in the 12th over to fox Rishabh Pant with a wide delivery, which the left-hander responded with a swing down the ground, only to be stumped for just seven, immediately after hitting a one-handed six over long-on.
The wide outside off-stump fetched another wicket for Livingstone when Rovman Powell tried to clear long-on but the thick outer edge went to long-off. With Livingstone ending his spell, Marsh brought out his counter-attacking self, raising his fifty with a slap through the covers off Brar, followed by another four between long-on and deep mid-wicket.
Marsh slammed three boundaries off Arshdeep in the 18th over -- two through leg-side and one bouncing past long-off. But his knock ended at 63 when his attempted pick-up shot was pouched by deep mid-wicket running in. Punjab gave away just ten runs in the last two overs to get the momentum in their favour at the innings break.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 159/7 (Mitchell Marsh 63, Sarfaraz Khan 32; Liam Livingstone 3/27, Arshdeep Singh 3/37) against Punjab Kings