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Delhi Capitals Captain Shreyas Iyer had no hesitation in electing to bowl after winning the toss, expecting dew to play a part in the second half of the game.
Put into bat, Kings XI Punjab were aware they needed a total around the 180 run mark and were on course with Chris Gayle going great guns.
The left-hander was at his attacking best as he started with a boundary and six off Ishant Sharma in the third over.
Sandeep Lamichhane -- the only Nepalese player plying his trade in the IPL -- also came under attack from Universe Boss as he hit the leg-spinner for four boundaries in the fourth over.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, there was no stopping Gayle who smashed his way to 50 from just 25 balls, hitting Amit Mishra for two sixes in the 9th over.
Iyer brought Lamichhane back in the 12th over. Gayle immediately went after the leggie, sweeping him for a 6 over midwicket.
The young leggie had the last laugh as Gayle pulled the next ball straight into the hands of deep midwicket to perish after a whirlwind 69 from 37 balls.
In the same over, Lamichhane claimed Sam Curran, affecting Punjab's momentum, going into the death overs. He ultimately finished with 3/40 in his 4 overs, which included K L Rahul's wicket.
Those wickets proved crucial as Punjab managed just 57 runs in the last 7 overs after Gayle's dismissal and were restricted to a below-par 163/7, which proved well short as the hosts won by 5 wickets.