David Warner and Prithvi Shaw help Delhi Capitals decimate Punjab Kings with a 9-wicket win
A COVID-ridden Delhi Capitals side took home an inspirational win at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. They restricted their opponents to 115 runs and then chased the target with 57 balls to spare.
The match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings was in jeopardy ever since news broke out that COVID was spotted in the Delhi Capitals camp. Tim Seifert became the latest one to be infected and the sixth one from their camp.
The pair added 81/0 in the first six overs, which is also the highest by the franchise in the power-plays. However, many of Delhi's players came out negative, and 15 players along with some support staff were allowed to carry out the match in the iconic Brabourne Stadium.
The team had received strong speeches from captain Rishabh Pant and head coach Ricky Ponting and were ready to change that they were number eight on the points table.
Delhi Capitals' bowlers demolish Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings were sent to bat first after Delhi Capitals' skipper Rishabh Pant won the toss and decided to bowl first.
The Delhi bowlers made sure to keep the pressure on the batsmen as they tried their best to avoid the short boundary on one end. And kept cracking wickets to ensure that the Punjab Kings batsmen were left to suffocate with wickets falling like a deck of cards.
Veteran Shikhar Dhawan was the first to part ways after Rishabh Pant caught him on delivery by Lalit Yadav for only 9 runs.
Then, it was skipper Mayank Agarwal's turn, who was bowled out by Mustafizur Rahman in the 5th over for only 24 runs. There was a bit of an English reunion on the pitch as the in-form heavy-hitter Liam Livingstone joined Jonny Bairstow. However, this was short-lived as Livingstone also gave away his wicket in the 6th over.
After losing some of their most important batsmen in the power plays, it looked difficult for Punjab to bounce back as it was Bairstow's turn to revisit the pavilion in the very next over with a score of 9 runs.
Meanwhile, Punjab's Jitesh Sharma graced the pitch and led a small partnership with Shahrukh Khan to take their side's total to 85 runs before being stumped by Rishabh Pant on the very first ball of the 13th over.
Things just went down for Punjab Kings here onward, who were restricted to a puny total of 115 runs after some visible effort by the tail-enders.
The bowlers played an incredible part, with Mustafizur Rahman taking the captain's wicket, whereas Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Lalit Yadav cracked 2 wickets each.
David Warner and Prithvi Shaw slice through Punjab Kings with ease
After getting a target of a number just above a hundred, it was up to Delhi Capitals to play it to their advantage and increase their Net run rate on the points table.
David Warner and Prithvi Shaw opened the batting for Delhi and showed their opponents how to play at the Brabourne stadium. The Australian and Shaw added 83 runs for the opening partnership in just 6.3 overs.
Rahul Chahar took the only wicket of the second innings as he sent Shaw back to the pavilion after he had demolished Punjab Kings in the power play with his 20-balls 41. Warner, on the other hand, was able to complete his fifty, his third successive one, and 53rd overall in the tournament.
And with some help from Sarfaraz Khan, Warner closed in with 60 off 30 balls and chased down Punjab King's target with 57 balls to spare.
The Delhi Capitals will now have to go through the Rajasthan Royals after advancing to number 6 on the points table. Punjab, on the other hand, will now meet Chennai Super Kings on the 25th of April.
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