11.58 pm: The man of the match is Ankit Rajpoot, for his spell of 2/23 that stifled Delhi at the start of their innings. That’s it from us tonight! Hope you enjoyed the live blog. We’ll be back again tomorrow evening for Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad. Good night!

11.55 pm: “If we were serious about winning, this is a game we needed to win,” says Ashwin. Couldn’t have said it better!

11.52 pm: Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir is blunt in his assessment of yet another defeat: “When you lose three wickets in the first six overs, it’s always difficult.” He still has hope, though, saying Delhi need to win seven of their remaining eight matches to make the playoffs.

11.44 pm: This is how the table looks after tonight’s match. Delhi, oh dear, Delhi! Anyone putting any money on them still making the playoffs?

11.41 pm: Take a bow, Mujeeb! Asked to bowl the last over, under pressure, and the 17-year-old delivers! Finishes with figures of 2/25 off his four overs.

11.38 pm: Scenes at the Kotla as the Punjab players jump on each other! Not many would have given them much of a chance after putting up just 143 on the board in their 20 overs. But some good, tight bowling, along with some really poor shot-selection from Delhi mean Punjab notch up their fifth win of the tournament and continue to lead the rest at the top of the table!

DD 139/8 in 20 overs

Iyer misses the first ball from Mujeeb but hits the second one straight down the ground for a maximum! Third delivery is hit straight to long-off but Iyer does not take the single. Fourth delivery is slogged to cow corner for a couple, helped by a fumble at the boundary. The fifth one is just about hit past short fine leg for four! DD need five runs from the last ball! Iyer goes for the big heave down the ground for six but finds the fielder! Kings XI Punjab have won!! Can you believe it?! They’ve defended 143 by four runs! Delhi might as well withdraw from the IPL!

DD 127/7 in 19 overs

Sran completes an excellent over – giving away only four runs and taking a wicket! He’s probably sealed the match for his team! Delhi need 17 from the last over, which will be bowled by Mujeeb. The good news for Delhi is Iyer is on strike!

DD 124/7 in 18.2 overs

Surprising many, Ashwin decides to go with Sran for the penultimate over instead of Mujeeb, who has been excellent. But Ashwin’s decision is vindicated as Iyer flicks him straight down deep backward square-leg’s throat! Is that the match? It probably is! Plunkett departs for a duck!

DD 123/6 in 18 overs

Andrew Tye is in to bowl the 18th over and his final one. He almost gets Iyer caught at long-off but the ball drops just short of Finch. Tye, however, gets Tewatia to nick him to the keeper off a knuckle ball! Just seven off the over. Liam Plunkett is the new batsman. He did really well with the ball. Can he perform with the bat and take his team home? That’ll be an incredible feat! Delhi need 21 from the last two overs.

DD 116/5 in 17 overs

Barinder Sran is back for his third over and Tewatia gives himself room and lofts him straight down the ground for six! Three deliveries later, he goes for a paddle-sweep against the left-handed pacer and finds the boundary again! Some of the pressure has been lifted off Delhi but they need at least one more big over like this one. Delhi need 28 from the last three overs.

DD 101/5 in 16 overs

Andrew Tye is back into the attack as Kings XI look for more breakthroughs. He doesn’t manage to get any but bowls another tidy over for his team. Just five runs conceded. Delhi need 43 from the last four overs.

DD 96/5 in 15 overs

Mujeeb is now back again and does well until Shreyas Iyer smacks him straight down the ground for four. It’s time for the second timeout as Delhi need 48 from the last five overs. They should just about be able to get there but Iyer needs to stay till the end.

DD 88/5 in 14 overs

Ashwin decides to complete his quota of overs and does well, conceding only four runs. He ends up with figures of 0/19.

DD 84/5 in 13 overs

Barinder Sran breaks up the spin. DRS saves the match from a real umpiring howler as Shreyas Iyer is adjudged caught behind, but he immediately reviews. Ultra Edge vindicates him and shows the sound was of the bat hitting the ground.

DD 76/5 in 12 overs

Ashwin’s back for a third and hands Pant a boundary on a silver plate by bowling a short delivery outside off. It’s an average over from Ashwin but King XI still manage to pick up a wicket as a superb throw by Mayank Agarwal from the deep runs Dan Christian out! Delhi are in big, big trouble!

DD 68/4 in 11 overs

Mujeeb comes back for a second over and again does a great job – giving away only three runs! Kings XI are racing through their overs. DD need 76 from the last nine runs – it’s still very much in their hands.

DD 65/4 in 10 overs

Ashwin is back for a second over and there’s a huge appeal for lbw off Pant but the umpire rules not out! Remember, Punjab have already used up their review. But replays show the umpire was right and the ball would have missed leg. Kings XI are well and truly on top here!

DD 61/4 in 8.1 overs

Mujeeb is into the attack and he strikes first ball! Peach of a delivery, bowled around the wicket and spinning back into the left-handed Pant, who completely misses it and hears is wickets shattering! Kings XI are still in this match! Don’t go anywhere! It’s the strategic time-out.

DD 61/3 in 8 overs

Ravi Ashwin brings himself into the attack and bowls a tidy over, conceding only five runs. But miserly overs won’t be enough for Punjab. They need to continue taking wickets here if they stand any chance of nicking a win.

DD 56/3 in 7 overs

Ankit Rajpoot is back for his fourth straight over! And he does really well to finish his spell, bowling four dot balls before conceding two boundaries to Shreyas Iyer – one thanks to some really bad fielding by young Mujeeb. Rajpoot’s figures: 2/23.

DD 48/3 in 6 overs

And Gambhir’s gone! What is happening at the Kotla! Gambhir finds a leading edge off Tye and gives a simple catch to mid-off! Is there a collapse beginning here? It’ll be remarkable if Delhi manage to lose this match! Rishabh Pant is the new batsman in and he needs to curb his shots and stick around!

DD 42/2 in 5 overs – Maxwell throws wicket away

Ankit Rajpoot is asked to bowl a third straight over and that’s good thinking from Ashwin considering the pacer has troubled Gambhir so far. Remember, Gambhir had captained Rajpoot at KKR but hardly used him. Rajpoot ends up dismissing Maxwell, who goes for another audacious shot but misconnects and holes out to deep backward square-leg! Unnecessary!

Meanwhile, here are Gambhir’s scores after his 55 against KXIP in the first match:

15 (16 balls) vs MI
8 (7 balls) vs KKR
3 (10 balls) vs RCB
4* (10 balls) vs KXIP

DD 39/1 in 4 overs

Andrew Tye is into the attack and Maxwell flicks him for six over deep backward square-leg! He tries a couple of ramps later on but does not connect. DD really don’t need to go for too many shots in this case of 144.

DD 30/1 in 3 overs – Shaw dismissed

One shot too many? An uber-aggressive cameo from Shaw comes to an end (22 off 10) one ball after he is almost run out. Very similar to the Mayank Agarwal dismissal from the first innings. Rajpoot lands it on a good length and looked like the ball skidded on quicker than Shaw anticipated, rattles his off-stump as he tried to play a cross-batted swipe.

Maxwell in at No 3 today and starts off with an elegant flick through midwicket for four.

DD 24/0 in 2 overs

Shaw has come out with a very positive mindset. Sran’s over goes for 18 runs. First ball, is french cut to the boundary by Prithvi Shaw, but the second ball saw one of the shots of the match being played. There was width on offer and the young man stands tall and square cuts it through point for four. The bat made a great sound, and the shot reminded Danny Morrison of a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Shaw gets another streaky boundary over slip before finishing the over with a pick-up shot through midwicket that stops before the boundary.

He has raced to 22 off 9 balls.

DD 6/0 in 1 over

Prithvi Shaw opens his IPL account with a glorious boundary hit over mid-off! Punjab then go for a very optimistic review against a hopping Gambhir and that’s clearly going over the stumps. DRS confirms it’s not out.

9.53 pm: We’re back for what should be a simple chase for DD. Prithvi Shaw is opening the batting on his debut. He dropped a sitter earlier on and he’ll be looking to make amends.

9.42 pm: Do you think Kings XI Punjab can defend 143? I’m not counting on them to, unless Delhi implode. Join us in a bit for the chase!

KXIP 143/8 in 20 overs

Trent Boult is handed the ball for the final over and he gets rid of Ashwin, who hits straight to point, and then ends Andrew Tye’s misery off the final ball of the innings! Kings XI end up with just 143 and that’s nowhere near enough on this pitch! Delhi in pole position to get two points.

KXIP 139/6 in 19 overs

Plunkett’s back for his final over and again bowls a peach to end with awesome figures of 3/17. Punjab in danger of not even ending up with 150!

KXIP 133/6 in 18 overs

Liam Plunkett can’t stop dismissing Punjab batsmen as he pouches Miller at deep cover! Punjab manage to get 12 off the over to get them closer to 150 but that’s hardly going to be enough.

KXIP 121/5 in 17 overs

The Daredevils finally manage to cling on to a catch as Shreyas Iyer pockets – on his second attempt – Karun Nair at long-on. He’s gone for 34 off 32 and the Daredevils are well on top here as Liam Plunkett picks up his third wicket! What a match the Englishman is having!

KXIP 116/4 in 16 overs

And now Prithvi Shaw drops a bigger sitter! How in earth did he drop that! It went straight into his tummy but he still managed to spill it! Not a good start to his debut IPL match and he looks aghast with himself. Miller then rubs salt in Delhi’s wounds by lofting Mishra over long-on for a big six! Nair gets another boundary off a good sweep to end the over – 16 runs from it! Will that break the shackes? It’s time for another timeout.

KXIP 100/4 in 15 overs

Maxwell drops a sitter! Yes, you read that right! Miller smacks Rahul Tewatia straight to Maxi at cover but he spills it and then gives away another runs via an overthrow! But Punjab again don’t manage to score a boundary in the over. It’s now quite likely they won’t reach 150 here.

KXIP 94/4 in 14 overs

Amith Mishra is back for a third straight over and again is in no mood to concede boundaries, even though Punjab manage to get eight off the over via singles and twos. Not enough for Punjab, though.

KXIP 86/4 in 13 overs – Yuvraj’s misery ends

Karun Nair finally finds the boundary and it’s via another beautiful shot as he lofts Avesh Khan over extra cover for four! Yuvraj Singh then gets a lucky boundary for himself as he nicks the pacer past the keeper. However, he nicks straight to the keeper the very next ball to give Avesh his second wicket! Yuvaj goes for 14 off 17. David Miller the new batsman in.

KXIP 76/3 in 12 overs

Mishra comes back for a second and, again, is very miserly as the Kings XI batsmen are just not able to find the ropes. Yuvraj Singh particularly is struggling to connect.

KXIP 72/3 in 11 overs

It’s spin from both ends now for the Daredevils as Glenn Maxwell comes into the attack. He too bowls a neat over, conceding only four runs. Kings XI need to get a move on here! Haven’t hit a boundary in almost four overs now.

KXIP 68/3 in 10 overs

Finally we have some spin as Amit Mishra comes into the attack. He hasn’t played the last four matches but shows no rust as he bowls a tidy over, conceding only five runs. We’re at the halfway mark of the innings and the Daredevils probably will be the happier of the two teams so far.

KXIP 63/3 in 9 overs

Dan Christian comes back to bowl another tidy over for the Daredevils, before the first strategic timeout is taken. Kings XI not really in a lot of trouble but they’re in unchartered territory here with just more than half the innings still left. Their openers have mostly done the job for them so far but the rest of the line-up will have to turn up tonight.

KXIP 61/3 in 8 overs

There’s pace in this Kotla wicket and Plunkett uses it well as he crashes through the defence of Mayank Agarwal and shatters his stumps! That was 146 kph! Wow! O Gayle, where art thou?

KXIP 59/2 in 7 overs

Dan Christian is into the attack and Karun Nair again manage to find a boundary in the over. The Kings XI batters are scoring at least one boundary an over in spite of the two early wickets and playing quite well.

KXIP 51/2 in 6 overs

Avesh Khan is back for a third over and Karun Nair creams him through the covers for four off the first ball! Beautiful, conventional cover drive! Khan recovers well in the rest of the over, even as Kings XI cross 50 to end the Powerplay.

KXIP 43/2 in 5 overs – KL Rahul is gone as well!

Liam Plunkett is brought into the attack and he strikes straight away! And it’s a big wicket! Rahul tries to scoop an off-cutter over fine leg but does not time it too well and just finds Avesh Khan, who dives forward and takes a good catch! Rahul’s gone for 23 and this could be trouble for Punjab!

KXIP 37/1 in 4 overs

Avesh Khan is back for a second over and he begins with a short delivery that is pulled by Rahul for the innings’ first six! Mayank Agarwal then gives himself width and hits another glorious boundary through the covers. These two are acting as if the first wicket never fell! Excellent start for Punjab!

KXIP 25/1 in 3 overs

Trent Boult provides a bit too much width to Mayank Agarwal and he obliges by cracking two glorious boundaries through point! That’s how you middle the ball, Aaron! KL Rahul is then given some width too and he too lashes out and finds the cover boundary.

KXIP 11/1 in 2 overs – Finch throws his wicket away!

Avesh Khan shares the new ball and gets the breakthrough for the Daredevils! The rest-Gayle-open-with-Aaron-Finch experiment has failed for Punjab! The Australian tries to go for his shots early on but just can’t connect with the middle and gives an easy catch to Shreyas Iyer at cover. Poor!

KXIP 5/0 in 1 over

Trent Boult opens the bowling for Delhi and he goes around the wicket straightaway against KL Rahul but goes over the wicket later in the over. A tidy first over from Boult, just five runs conceded. The Kings XI openers assessing the pitch and movement.

7.58 pm: The players are walking out to the middle and we’re almost ready to go!

7.50 pm: Whoops! Hold that! Delhi Daredevils have just tweeted that Prithvi Shaw is making his debut. The IPL’s Twitter account did not know! Hmm....

Anyway here is the final (hopefully) Delhi XI:

Gautam Gambhir (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Glenn Maxwell, Prithvi Shaw, Dan Christian, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult.

7.48 pm: Here are the playing XIs:

Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Dan Christian, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Shahbaz Nadeem, Harshal Patel, Trent Boult.

Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul, Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, David Miller, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin (c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ankit Rajpoot.

7.40 pm: In case you don’t believe us about Gayle not playing tonight, here is proof:

7.34 pm: Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir wins the toss and opts to bowl. But the big news at the toss is that Chris Gayle is not playing! Ravi Ashwin says the big man is a “bit sore” after hitting three consecutive scores of 50-plus and Aaron Finch will open the batting instead! STOP THE PRESS!

7.17 pm: No prizes for guessing which team is the favourite to win tonight.

7.10 pm: The Delhi Daredevils are playing their first home game of the season and, boy, will they be glad they’re finally off the road! DD have played five matches so far – all of them away from home, and have managed to win only one of them. They currently languish at the bottom of the table because of that record.

Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, are on a roll. The Ravi Ashwin-lead team sit pretty at the top of the table with four wins from five matches, riding on the performance of their batsmen – mainly Chris Gayle and KL Rahul.

Good evening and welcome to The Field’s live blog for the match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.