Delhi start IPL campaign with 10-wicket win

Sporadic rain in Cape Town dampened Kings XI Punjab spirits as they went down to Delhi Daredevils by 10 wickets on Sunday. 

Rain played a real spoilsport in this clash of Yuvraj and Sehwag's flamboyance. It not only delayed the start but also reduced the game to 12 overs a side. 

Delhi were 24/0 in reply to Punjab's 104/7, when rain came down for the last time in the game. With all wickets intact, the D/L method swung in Delhi's favour and the target was revised to 54 in six overs. 

With the help of unbeaten knocks from Virender Sehwag (38) and Gautam Gambhir (15), Delhi got the total with seven balls to spare. Sehwag's blitzkrieg that saw four boundaries and three sixes, helped Delhi race to the winning mark with ease. 

Put in to bat by Virender Sehwag, Punjab were off to a flying start. The way Kings XI openers Ravi Bopara and Karan Goel started the proceedings, it looked they would score more than 150 runs in 12 overs. 

But Delhi bowler Daniel Vettori got into the damage control mode and picked three crucial wickets along with a run out to restrict them for 104. He was rightly chosen the 'Man of the Match'.

Bopara and Karan started their '12 overs a side' game confidently and made 67 runs for the first wicket. Bopara looked to attack from the very outset and played some juicy shots. 

Karan, taking cue from his partner, also went on to smack the Delhi bowlers. In his quickfire knock of 38 runs, Karan hit three fours and three sixes. He butchered Delhi bowlers and made 38 runs before Yo Mahesh struck to dismiss him. He was aiming to launch one from Mahesh into the crowd but the ball took the top edge of his bat and was taken by Vettori at mid-off.

Vettori was soon introduced and the Kiwi skipper proved his utility quickly as he caught Bopara plumb in front to the middle stump. He struck two massive sixes during his knock of 22 runs. 

Vettori struck again to remove Sri Lankan batsman Sangakkara, who tried to go for the pull over the short fine leg region but found Dirk Nannes there. He could add only 8 runs.

Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh played a couple of sixes before he was run-out by Vettori. Yuvraj made only 16 runs.

Jayawardene made six runs before he mistimed a shot off Vettori and was taken by compatriot Tillkaratne Dilshan at long-off. 

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla went his skipper's way without even opening his account. Irfan Pathan threw away his wicket off the last ball of the innings while trying to clear the boundary. The shot off Avishkar Salvi's last delivery had more elevation than the distance and was taken successfully by Dilshan.

Kings XI Punjab: Ravi Bopara, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh, Karan Goel, Taruwar Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Vikramjeet Malik, Piyush Chawla, VRV Singh, Yusuf Abdulla. 

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag, Avishkar Salvi, Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Manoj Tiwary, Dinesh Karthik, Tillakratne Dilshan, Daniel Vettori, Yo Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Dirk Nannes.