David Miller's wicket was the turning point: Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra dismissed Miller and Maxwell in the space of four balls.

Amit Mishra's four-wicket haul at the Feroz Shah Kotla gave Delhi Daredevils their first taste of victory in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 33-year-old legspinner, who earned his 100th IPL cap on Friday (April 15), was brought into the attack right after the fielding restrictions were off and produced a magical spell that made the Kings XI Punjab middle-order look like a bunch of rookies.

Shaun Marsh, was the first to go, literally throwing his wicket away. Captain David Miller and Glenn Maxwell followed next, both in the same over, much like what unfolded in Mohali. To cap it off, Mishra got rid of their most stable bat, Manan Vohra, all in successive overs to leave the visitors reeling at 59 for 5 with about half the overs still left in the bank.

Mishra, beaming with pride after bagging the Man of the Match award for his second-best figures of 4 for 11, felt it was Punjab captain Miller's wicket that turned the game on its head. "Miller's wicket was the turning point, I feel. They were already under pressure (at that point) and their captain's wicket added to the pressure," said Mishra, before adding, "I'm very happy to get the Man of the Match as well as the Purple Cap (for the highest wicket-taker in the tournament) in my 100th IPL game."

Mishra admitted he had done his homework well to set up the dangerous pair of Maxwell and Miller. "I can't exactly describe, but I admit I did plan a bit and had seen some videos in advance. I had a word with Zaheer (Khan). The plan was to force them to play big shots and that would get us the wicket(s). I am happy it worked out well for us," Mishra said.

"You do get some clue when a batsman is about to go for his shots. What's more important is that, luckily, I was successful and got wickets off whatever I bowled tonight."

Mishra also acknowledged Zaheer's contribution in building the pressure on the Punjab line-up with his tight bowling spell of 3-1-8-0 in the powerplay overs. "The pressure he built was always going to be helpful. The batsman then wants to go after the spinners and that helped me. When the batsman plans to go after you, the bowler has a better chance of getting a wicket. That was exactly our plan tonight."

Pleased to have started their upward journey with a win at their home ground in Kotla, as he promised on the eve of the game, Mishra said the big win will boost the team's morale going ahead.

"It is good to win our home game. This will boost our team's morale. What matters is the way we are practicing and putting in all the hard work. This is just the starting. The focus now shifts to the next bunch of games. We're working on our batting, bowling as well as fielding and constantly looking for improvement."

Asked if would have liked an opportunity to bowl the fourth over and get a five-for, Mishra joked had it backfired, the fourth over could have spoilt his figures as well, before adding that he is content to have made a substantial contribution to the team's total.

"I could have been hit for three sixes as well, who knows! I'm happy with what I got tonight. What matters to me is that the team won and I had a significant contribution in that," Mishra signed off with a glee.