IPL 7: Kings XI Punjab hold their nerve to clinch thriller vs Daredevils

New Delhi It was another nailbiter as tabletoppers Kings XI Punjab held their nerves to emerge victorious by 4 wickets against Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla on MondayChasing 165 to win the Punjab team made a meal of their chase after a good start provided by their openers Manan Vohra and Virender Sehwag KXIP lost wickets in quick succession in the middle with inform batsmen Glenn Maxwell David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha not being able to stay out in the middlePunjab rode on a breezy 67run opening stand between Virender Sehwag 23 and Manan Vohra 42 off 19 balls to overhaul the target in 194 oversKings XI Punjabs Akshar Patel and Rishi Dhawan celebrate after their win during the IPL 7 match against Delhi Daredevils in New Delhi on MondayVohra dazzled with four fours and three sixes to entertain the packed house at the Kotla as the Punjab opening duo scored 66 runs in the powerplays South African legspinner Imran Tahir 322 struck after the drinks in the seventh over to deny Vohra his fifty But Glenn Maxwell soon brought the crowd to its feet as the orangecap holder effortless swiped Tahir for a huge six between midwicket and longon Feeling at home till now Sehwag also tried to follow Maxwell and did hit a six but soon the Delhiborn chased one outsidetheoff delivery to be caught at sweeper cover off Proteas offspinner JeanPaul Duminy Maxwells 14 stay was also shortlived as Tahir cleaned up the dangerman with a perfect googly and celebrated the prized wicket with a little run in the inner circle But Delhi were hungry for more as Duminy from the other end came around the wicket to fox an inform David Miller 2 as the hosts sensed an upset with Punjab at 95 for four Wriddhiman Saha 13 and Akshar Patel 42 not out then stitched a 33run fifthwicket partnership to take Punjab closer to their target With 38 runs required Mohammed Shami sent back Saha to give some hope to the home crowd but Patel carried on sensibly The lefthand batsman hit three boundaries off Wayne Parnell to ease the pressure as a happy George Bailey 6 watched from the nonstrikers endBailey fell to Tahirs guile in the penultimate over but there was no twist in the tale as Rishi Dhawan 8 not out hit the winning runs off ParnellAfter todays win Punjab remained on top top with 18 points from 11 matches while Delhi continued to languish at the bottom with four points from 12 matchesDelhi Daredevils batsman Dinesh Karthik celebrates his half century during an IPL 7 match against Kings XI Punjab in New Delhi on Monday PTIEarlier Dinesh Karthik and Kevin Pietersen combined well upfront to help Delhi Daredevils score 164 for sevenKarthik 69 and skipper Pietersen 49 strung together a 71run partnership off just 48 balls for the second wicket after Murali Vijay 5 fell earlyHowever barring the two Delhi batsmen found the going toughJP Duminy 17 and Kedar Jadhav 0 who have done so well for the Daredevils this season failed to make a mark putting further pressure on KarthikDelhi could have made a bigger score but they lost their last five wickets for the addition of just 18 runs as they were 140 for two in the 17th overDelhis disastrous end to their innings saw them score just 35 runs in the final four oversKarthik having hit seven fours and three sixes in his crucial knock also failed to go for the kill in the end as he went after BeuranHendricks in the 19th over only to get out Hendricks struck for the third time in his spell and second in the over to send Wayne Parnell out for two as Punjab checked Delhi The final over off Patel yielded just five runsYoung pacer Sandeep Sharma who has been in fine form once again bowled in good areas picking up three wickets and took his tally to 18 in the tournament the same as purple cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad