Delhi Capitals continued their rampaging form in IPL 2021 as they cruised to a comfortable victory by seven wickets against Punjab Kings at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday. Mayank Agarwal scored 99 runs, but his fantastic knock went in vain as Punjab suffered a fifth defeat in IPL 2021.
After winning the toss, Delhi Capitals decided to chase since teams have been chasing well at Ahmedabad in IPL 2021. The decision from Delhi was vindicated as they dismissed Chris Gayle and Prabhsimran Singh quickly in the powerplay overs. Mayank Agarwal and Dawid Malan struggled to score runs as DC kept bowling tight lines and lengths.
Malan was eventually castled by Axar Patel as his lengthy struggled on the pitch came to an end after scoring 26 runs in 26 balls. After the departure of Malan, Deepak Hooda was run out for one run. Agarwal kept scoring runs from one end as wickets kept tumbling. His brilliance eventually gave Punjab a competitive total.
However, Delhi Capitals was in no mood to make it a close encounter. Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan came out flying off the blocks to score quick runs in the powerplay. They stitched a partnership of 63 runs in six overs. After Shaw’s dismissal, Dhawan kept the momentum by scoring quick runs. Punjab had no respite throughout the innings as Delhi comfortably clinched a victory. Dhawan ended up with yet another half-century as he scored 69 runs in 47 delivers.
Courtesy of this good run of form, Delhi looks certain to seal a place in the playoffs sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings find themselves in a state of bother. They will not have KL Rahul for the rest of IPL 2021 as he is set to undergo surgery for appendicitis. Punjab will need a serious recovery to claw back in the top four any time soon.
Scorecard
Punjab Kings: 166/6 (Mayank Agarwal 99(58), Dawid Malan 26(26), Kagiso Rabada (3/36), Axar Patel (1/21))
Delhi Capitals: 167/3 (Shikhar Dhawan 69(47), Prithvi Shaw 39(22), Harpreet Brar (1/19), Chris Jordan (1/21))