DHARAMSHALA, May 19: Pace bowlers Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav shared seven wickets as Delhi Daredevils geared up for the playoffs with a resounding six-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

Morkel grabbed 4-20 and Yadav took 3-19 as Punjab was restricted to 141-8 after being put in to bat on a lively track at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.

Delhi scored 145-4 in 18.2 overs with opener David Warner slamming a 44-ball 79 with four sixes and 10 fours.

Delhi, which was the first team to book a passage to the knockout stage, ensured it would remain the top ranked team as it finished with 11 wins and five losses.

Punjab, needing a win to stay in contention, finished with eight wins and eight losses.

Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra struck vital blows as Deccan Chargers completed a five-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals on Friday.

Steyn grabbed 2-16 and Mishra took 2-20 as Deccan Chargers restricted Rajasthan to 126-8 after the visiting side elected to bat at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

Akshath Reddy then top scored with 42 as Deccan reached 128-5 in 18.4 overs.

The defeat knocked Rajasthan out of contention for a berth in the playoffs with seven wins and eight losses from 15 games.

Deccan, which was led by Australian Cameron White after regular captain Kumar Sangakkara was dropped due to lack of form, remains at the bottom of the table with three wins, 11 losses and one no-result from 15.

“I enjoyed the season a lot but it would have been better had we won more,” Steyn said.

It was an unimpressive display by Rajasthan despite some poor fielding by Deccan.

Dravid’s 36-ball knock, which included five fours, barely helped the team stay afloat as it seemed to slide after in-form opener Ajinkya Rahane was caught in the slips off a fine outswinger from Dale Steyn.

Wickets fell at regular intervals, with Amit Mishra impressing in his two dismissals when he bowled a fine leg-spin delivery to bowl Shane Watson and then Stuart Binny with a googly.

Steyn came back to dismiss Johan Botha while Veer Pratap Singh accounted for Ashok Menaria and Sreevats Goswami.

Owais Shah chipped in with 28 and Menaria made 20 but no batsman managed to push on for a considerable score.

Deccan was always in control after openers Reddy and Shikhar Dhawan (26) established a 63-run partnership for the opening wicket. With Jean-Paul Duminy contributing 24 batting at No. 3, the home side did not go off course.

Summarised scores:

Delhi Daredevils bt Kings XI Punjab by six wickets.

KINGS XI PUNJAB 141-8 in 20 overs (S.D. Chitnis 38, Azhar Mahmood 36; M. Morkel 4-20, U.T. Yadav 3-19); Delhi Daredevils 145-4 in 18.2 overs (D.A. Warner 79; R.J Harris 2-19, Azhar Mahmood 2-23). Deccan Chargers bt Rajasthan Royals by five wickets.

DECCAN CHARGERS 128-5 in 18.4 overs (Akshath Reddy 42, Shikhar Dhawan 26; Sidharth Trivedi 2-20); RAJASTHAN ROYALS 126-8 (Rahul Dravid 39, Owais Shah 28; Dale Steyn 2-16, Amit Mishra 2-20, Veer Pratap Singh 2-31).—Agencies