A superb all-round showing from Marcus Stoinis with both bat and ball helped Delhi Capitals edge past Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over, in a thrilling IPL match, in Dubai on Sunday.
Stoinis smashed a brilliant 53 from 21 balls to rally Delhi after a horror start and guide them to a healthy 157/8 after they were put into bat.
The Australian took the Kings XI bowling apart in the last few overs with his belligerent strokeplay which saw Delhi smash as many as 57 runs from the last three overs.
When Stoinis walked out to bat, Delhi looked set for a below-par total after they were reduced to 86/4 in the 14th over, with all their top batsmen gone.
It got worse for Delhi when Captain Shreyas Iyer (39) perished in the next over, but there was no stopping Super Stoinis at the death.
Stoinis started his assault in the 18th over when he smashed pacer Chris Jordan for a six and four in the 18th over.
He then took apart Sheldon Cottrell in the penultimate over with three fours in a row to give Delhi some much-needed confidence.
It was Stoinis at his destructive best in the final over as Jordan suffered again. He started the final over with a huge six over the leg side, followed by a hat-trick of fours to leave the hapless Jordan stunned.
Stoinis completed his fifty in grand style, from just 20 balls, as he clobbered Jordan over midwicket.
Even though he was run out off the next ball, his super assault had powered Delhi to a healthy 157.
Stoinis was not done yet and he once again did the star turn with the ball.
The momentum was firmly with Kings XI with 13 needed from six balls as Mayank Agarwal, who had smashed 77 from 55 balls, led a superb counter-attack.
Agarwal started the final over by smashing Stoinis's first ball for a six and followed it with a boundary two balls later.
But Kings XI self-destructed with just one run needed from three balls for victory.
Agarwal sliced a Stoinis full toss straight to the fielder at sweeper cover when he could have merely tapped it for a single.
Two balls later, Mohammed Shami flicked another Stoinis full toss to the fielder at square leg as the match ended in a tie.
Delhi made most of the reprieve and held their nerve in the Super Over to clinch a well-deserved victory as Kings XI faltered with the bat courtesy of Kagiso Rabada.
