With his third four-for in the Indian Premier League, leg-spinner Amit Mishra set-up the Delhi Daredevils' first win of the 2016 edition of the T20 tournament. Playing against Kings XI Punjab the leg-spinner finished with envious figures of 3-0-11-4. He claimed four (Manan Vohra, Shaun Marsh, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell) of the top five to set the hosts on the winning path at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

Coming in to bowl at the end of the powerplay with the visitors at 37 for one, Mishra claimed Shaun Marsh off the first ball he bowled to the Australian. The No. 3 batsman stepped out to the spinner and was stumped. Speaking about the wicket, the Daredevils bowler said, “Marsh stepped out a little too early. I was trying to cramp him and spin the ball so that he mis-times the hit. But the ball spun and went through the gate as he was attempting to hit a six. He was trying to put pressure on me in the beginning but then what I had thought (planned) worked out better and I got the wicket.”

He then followed it up with the key wickets Miller and Maxwell in his next over to leave KXIP reeling at 52 of four in the ninth over. “I had decided that while bowling to them I will do so with the intent of getting (their) wickets, because they are the kind of players who if they start getting the shots right are difficult to stop. So it is better that when they come out to bat you bowl to get the wicket. And today my plans worked. I am really happy,” he elaborated.

While Mishra didn’t reveal his plans, he added, “The wicket was on the slower side. One could bat well on it. But the way we had planned for them ...I had spoken to Zak bhai (Zaheer Khan) and we are happy that it worked out. And hope that whatever plans we make in the future work out well and we continue to win matches.”

Asked what kind of an impact did Zaheer’s miserly first spell (3-1-8-0) have, Mishra explained, “It makes a lot of difference when your fast bowlers bowl well upfront. It creates pressure on the batsmen who then try to hit the spinners who follow. So that benefits us in a way, like I can try to get them out and today our plans succeeded.”

Speaking about his captain, the bowler further added, “Having someone like Zak bhai, who has played so much cricket around the world and has a lot of experience as to how to bowl where, helps. He also helps our batsmen and gives them useful tips. He supports all of us. He gives us options and we can chose the one that suits us best.”

Mishra, who had said before that match the he would be looking to be amongst the top 10 wicket-takers this season received not only the Man of the Match for the game but also the proud recipient of the Purple Cap. Speaking about the double award for his efforts against David Miller-led side, he said, “It definitely feels good to be wearing the Purple Cap but the effort will always continue to be there to keep it with me. There is still a long way to go in the tournament, still more than a month and a half to go almost. These are initial days and the focus is on performing and winning matches. The Purple Cap will remain on the head if we keep winning matches.”

Reflecting on the first win of the season, he concluded, “It was a very important win. It has boosted the team’s morale. It was important to win and make Delhi (fans), who have kept their faith in us, happy. Today we put up an effort to keep the faith of our fans and followers here and did well.”