Highlights:
- Mayank Agarwal’s 99 not out goes in vain as Delhi Capitals thrash Punjab Kings by 7 wickets
- DC now sits at top of the IPL 2021 points table while PBKS ranks 6th
- Shikhar Dhawan was also unbeaten at 69
A delightful knock from Shikhar Dhawan of 69 unbeaten dwarfed the innings from Punjab Kings’ skipper Mayank Agarwal who scored 99 not out as Delhi Capitals defeated Punjab Kings by seven wickets in the IPL, on Sunday and now sits comfortably on the top of IPL 2021 points table.
Agarwal, who was leading the team in the absence of regular skipper K L Rahul, used the straight bat effectively in his lone hand to take Punjab Kings to 166 after a loss of 6 wickets. Delhi Capitals hardly broke a sweat in the chase, winning the match in just 17.4 overs, clinching their sixth victory in eight matches.
For Punjab Kings, it was their fifth loss in 8 games in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, continuing their inconsistent run so far.
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Delhi Capitals’ destructive opening duo Prithvi Shaw (39 from 22) and Dhawan (69 unbeaten from 47) gave another flying start to Delhi who raced to 63 for no loss in 6 overs.
Against the run chase, left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar carried on from where he left off in the match played against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and dismissed the set Shaw on his very first ball which turned just enough to clip the off-stump.
After that wicket, the Punjab-based IPL franchise was able to bring down the Run Rate by conceding almost run-a-ball from over 7 to 10.
Having said that, PBKS needed regular fall of wickets to keep themselves in the game but that never happened.
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Following the wicket of Steve Smith on the last ball of the 13th over by Riley Meredith, Dhawan stepped on the accelerator and swept Ravi Bishnoi for a six to complete his 44th half-centurny in the IPL. It was followed by a couple of fours in the same over.
After that, DC were unstoppable as in the end West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer who hit 16 from 4 balls smashing two maximums and a four in the 18th over of the game to take DC home with 14 balls to spare.
Earlier in the match, PBKS skipper Mayank Agarwal single-handedly took the team past 160 with his crucial knock of 99 not out comprising of eights fours and four maximums.
Delhi kept things tight in the powerplay, conceding just 39 runs and sending back Prabhsimran Singh for 12 runs as well as the mighty Chris Gaye (13). Gayle missed a fast full toss from Rabada after pulling the South African for a massive six.
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