The pitches are slowing down in the United Arab Emirates, but nothing seems to be affecting Shikhar Dhawan (106, 61b, 12x4, 3x6). The southpaw scored his second successive hundred of Indian Premier League 2020.
It is unfortunate that Delhi Capitals still could not stop Kings XI Punjab from tasting sweet revenge in Dubai on Tuesday. Riding on Nicholas Pooran’s 28-ball 53, Punjab chased down 165 with six balls to spare. It had lost the first-leg fixture in the Super Over.
K.L. Rahul (15, 11b, 1x4) and Mayank Agarwal (5, 9b) did not fire today. In fact, Delhi captain Shreyas Iyer had the arsenal to even restrict Chris Gayle (29, 13b, 3x4, 2x6). R.Ashwin is among the highest wicket-takers in the powerplay, and the off-spinner had dismissed Gayle five times in the IPL. But pacer Tushar Deshpande was introduced into the attack ahead of Ashwin, and the youngster leaked 26 runs. Gayle tonked him all around the park for three fours and two sixes to end the Powerplay on a high.
Eventually, it was Ashwin who ran through his gate — for the sixth time in the tournament. Pooran and Glenn Maxwell (32, 24b, 3x4) added 69 for the fourth-wicket to close in on the target.
Pooran’s six off Stoinis over long-on with a grain of dust flying in the air due to the friction was perhaps the shot of the match. Kagiso Rabada (2/27), Axar Patel (1/27) and R. Ashwin (1/27) did apply brakes, but they left it too late.
The Dhawan show
Two days ago, Dhawan had scored an unbeaten 101 against Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah. The opponent and the venue changed, but the India international rode on intent to carry the bat again.
Skipper Rahul, not shying away from experimenting, started the Powerplay with off-spinner Maxwell. Prithvi Shaw (7,11b, 1x4) and Dhawan like to use the pace of the ball and are not too comfortable against spin upfront. The Australian almost pulled off a caught-and-bowled dismissal against the left-hander in the sixth ball.
Shaw’s miserable run continued as Maxwell caught him off Jimmy Neesham in the fourth over. Dhawan kept the pressure off by scoring in boundaries, as he normally does. He snatched 12 runs off a Mohammed Shami over by simply finding the gaps.
Punjab made inroads by picking up a few crucial wickets in the middle overs, but Dhawan ensured the scoreboard moved as swiftly as his feet did against the seam bowlers.
Shreyas Iyer (14, 12b, 1x6), Rishabh Pant (14, 20, 1x4), Marcus Stoinis (9, 10b) had a quiet day. Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin stole an edge off Iyer’s attempted flick to hand Rahul a smart catch behind the stumps. He moved along the line of the ball to pouch the offering.
Dhawan took Delhi to 164 for the loss of five wickets. With this victory, Punjab has moved to the fifth spot with eight points, while Delhi continues to stay on top.
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