The show had its latest star in Sam Curran, who in just his second match at the tournament took a hat-trick, found potential as an opener and won Kings XI Punjab a match from a position of no hope.

Then there were Delhi Daredevils Capitals. New ownership, new surname, new everything, but still the same old story: they lost seven wickets for eight runs – the worst in IPL history – and were defeated by 14 runs.

And so, at this point, the tale of the traditional IPL laggards are seemingly headed in opposition directions.

What’s hot

???

Some bhangra moves there, courtesy @realpreityzinta & @CurranSM ?? pic.twitter.com/VAeXq3I07o

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 1, 2019

Sam Curran. He took four wickets in just eight balls, didn’t realise he’d taken a hat-trick, and was named Player of the Match. All this after replacing Chris Gayle at the top of the Punjab line-up, and scoring a mighty impressive 10-ball 20. There was also a spot of bhangra at the end there. Keep this up, and Kings XI Punjab might think the INR 7.2 crore (approx £800,000) they paid for him was a bargain.

Three of Curran’s four wickets were tail-enders – that’s not his fault – but what triggered it all was the crucial scalp of Colin Ingram, who was well set on a 29-ball 38. Two balls later, he had Harshal Patel caught behind. That was on the last ball of the 18th over. He returned for the final over, had Kagiso Rabada and Sandeep Lamichhane dismissed in consecutive balls. He was so caught up in the euphoria of that comeback win that the hat-trick was an afterthought. Endearing.

What’s not

“Yeh Twitter talk nah”

– R Ashwin, after effecting a legitimate, game-changing run-out that nobody could question, for once.

What’s next

The clash of the laggards! Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals are the new stragglers in the Indian Premier League, and their clash on Tuesday promises plenty of mis-hits and slip-ups.