IPL 2023: Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar help PBKS knock DC out of race to playoffs with 31-run win

Prabhsimran Singh and Harpreet Brar played central roles in Punjab Kings’ 31-run victory over Delhi Capitals in Delhi that kept their hopes of making the IPL 2023 playoffs marginally alive.

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While Prabhsimran rescued PBKS from shaky start, propelling them towards a competitive 167/7 with his maiden IPL century (103 off 65), Brar triggered a spectacular collapse with his haul of 4/30, with vital support from Rahul Chahar (2/16) to restrict DC to 136/8 after Delhi skipper David Warner (54 off 27 balls) got them off to a promising start.

The win took Punjab to 12 points from 12 games, just outside the top four but they will need to win the next two matches as well to keep hopes of a playoff, while it was the end of the road for Delhi.

Earlier, while none of his batting colleagues could cross 20 runs on a sluggish pitch, Prabhsimran’s perseverance paid off as he lifted Punjab from 46 for 3 to a competitive total.

Warner and Phil Salt provided a flying start to Delhi’s chase but the spin duo of Brar and Chahar triggered a collapse with the hosts inexplicably losing six wickets for just 19 runs to slip from 69 for no loss to 88 for 6 in 10.1 overs.

Brar and Chahar were rewarded for bowling full and straight as wickets tumbled like nine pins at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital.

If Brar saw the back of Warner, Phil Salt (21), Rilee Rossouw (5), Manish Pandey (0), Chahar picked up wickets of Mitchell Marsh (3) and Axar Patel (1) in their quota of four overs.

Yaar tera superstar, sadda kalakaar – Harpreet Brar