CHANDIGARH: Star Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant returned to action as Punjab Kings beat Delhi Capitals by four wickets in their opening encounter of the Indian Premier League season on Saturday.
Pant, injured in a car accident in December 2022, marked his return to high-profile cricket by leading out the Capitals. He scored 18 off 13 balls in his comeback innings.
Delhi reached 174-9 in 20 overs after Shai Hope top scored with 33 off 25 balls, while impact batter Abishek Porel smashed 32 not out off 10.
Punjab relied on Sam Curran’s 63 off 47 balls to scale the target in 19.2 overs and finished with 177-6 in reply.
Put into bat, the Capitals got a speedy start from David Warner (29) and Mitchell Marsh (20) as the duo put on 39 off 20 balls for the first wicket.
Punjab struck back through its pacers — Marsh was out caught off Arshdeep Singh, while Harshal Patel bounced out Warner.
Pant walked in to a rousing reception but played a scratchy knock even as Hope smacked two fours and two sixes off 25 balls.
Patel picked his second as Pant was out caught in the 13th over. With Hope gone as well, Delhi was down to 111-4.
It became 111-5 as Ricky Bhui only managed three runs, out caught behind to spinner Harpreet Brar (1-14). South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs also fell for just five runs.
Axar Patel scored 21 off 13 balls before he was run out. Porel was then subbed in at 138-7 and played a rescuing hand for the Capitals.
Porel smacked four fours and two sixes off the 10 balls faced as Delhi finished with an unlikely par-score in its first outing this season.
In response, Punjab was down to 42-2 as Ishant Sharma inflicted a double blow. He bowled skipper Shikhar Dhawan for 22 runs.
Then, Jonny Bairstow was run out for nine at the non-striker’s end. Sharma just managed to get his fingers onto the ball as the English batter was backing out too far.
Curran then added 42 off 33 balls with Prabhsimran Mann for the third wicket. The latter took the lead, scoring 26 off 17 balls, before he was caught at long on off Kuldeep Yadav (2-20).
Yadav picked his second as Jitesh Sharma was out stumped for nine.
It left Punjab at 100-4 in 11.3 overs, but Curran and Liam Livingstone came together to save the day.
Curran hit six fours and a six in his 39-ball 50, while Livingstone smacked three sixes and two fours in a 21-ball 38-run knock.
The duo added 67 runs off 42 balls, before Khaleel Ahmed (2-43) bowled Curran in the penultimate over. Livingstone though stayed on to the end.
Delhi dropped a couple catches which allowed Punjab to scale the target with ease.
Kolkata Knight Riders host Sunrisers Hyderabad later.
Rishabh Pant returns as Punjab opens season with win over Delhi in IPL
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Rishabh Pant returns as Punjab opens season with win over Delhi in IPL
- Pant, injured in a car accident in December 2022, marked his return to high-profile cricket by leading out the Capitals
Real Madrid face Man City, PSG draw Chelsea in Champions League last 16
- This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012
- Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray
PARIS: Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea.
The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before traveling to England for the return the following week.
The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.
That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.
This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarterfinals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024. They also emerged victorious in the semifinals in 2022 with City winning at the same stage the following year.
PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.
The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarterfinals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.
Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.
“The draw is fascinating, as usual,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “It will be fascinating to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well, but it will not be about revenge. These are two different competitions.”
Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as coach of Strasbourg.
- Arsenal face Leverkusen, Newcastle play Barcelona -
There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. None will play each other in the last 16 but there are two potential all-English quarterfinals.
Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.
The winner of that tie will play either PSG or Chelsea in the quarterfinals, meaning there is a chance Liverpool will get the opportunity to avenge their defeat by the Parisians on penalties a year ago.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St. James’ Park — the Spanish side won 2-1 there during the league phase in September.
Barcelona’s only other possible opponents were holders PSG, but their coach Hansi Flick insisted: “We are not celebrating not getting PSG. We must respect our opponents. Everyone wants to reach the final and Newcastle will also be eager to win the Champions League.”
Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid, with the winners of that tie then facing Newcastle or Barcelona in the last eight.
Arsenal, who finished first in the league phase, will come up against Bayer Leverkusen and if they win that would then be huge favorites in a quarter-final against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting of Portugal.
The last-16 meeting with Sporting is the Norwegian upstarts’ reward for knocking out last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan in the play-offs.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes described Arsenal as “perhaps the top favorite for the title in both the Champions League and the Premier League. Everything has to go right, but then we’re capable of making life difficult for them.”
German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition.
The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later. The teams who qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.
This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.
