#ThisDayThatYear: Sam Curran's hat-trick does the trick for KXIP
What's the story
On April 1, England seamer Sam Curran staged an eccentric tunraround for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Capitals, in the previous IPL edition. With a stunning bowling display at the death, Curran derailed Delhi Capitals' chase along with Mohammed Shami. The match saw an infamous batting collapse of Delhi Capitals, who were nearing a comfortable victory. Here is how the match panned out.
Kings XI Punjab
KXIP put up 166 despite an impressive start
Sam Curran and KL Rahul gave KXIP a blistering start, but the duo departed soon. The likes of Sarfaraz Khan (39), David Miller (43) and Mandeep Singh (29) gained momentum before the wickets started falling in quick succession. None of the last five batsmen could reach double figures with KXIP settling for 166/9. Chris Morris was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals were closing in on victory
KXIP skipper Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Prithvi Shaw on the very first delivery of Delhi Capitals' innings. However, Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer brought DC right back in the hunt. Later on, Rishabh Pant Pant paired up with Colin Ingram to make the contest one sided. Delhi Capitals were soaring on 144/3 when Mohammed Shami provided KXIP the crucial breakthrough in form of Pant.
Drama
DC lost seven wickets for eight runs
DC lost seven wickets as the equation was down to 23 off 21. Sam Curran took two wickets in the 18th over, having scalped Harshal Patel on the last ball. Mohammed Shami removed Hanuma Vihari in the next over. Curran dismissed Rabada and Lamichhane on the first two deliveries of the final over to claim his hat-trick. KXIP won the game by 14 runs.
Information
Curran etched his name in the record books
Having finished with figures of 11/4, Sam Curran recorded the 18th hat-trick in IPL history. The southpaw also became the third bowler from Kings XI Punjab to grab a hat-trick. Yuvraj Singh achieved the feat twice in 2009 and Axar Patel in the 2016 season.