Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab were involved in the 37th match of the IPL 2019, where former won the toss and opted to bowl first. KL Rahul got out early to Sandeep Lamichhane but Chris Gayle was determined from the other end. He was hitting the ball hard and hit five sixes during his innings of 69 runs off 37 balls. But once Gayle got out, Punjab lost the plot completely. Mandeep Singh was the other notable contributor with 30 runs. Delhi bowlers restricted Punjab to 163/7 in 20 overs.
Delhi started their chase in fine fashion as Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan were hitting boundaries before the former got run out. But there was no stopping Dhawan at Feroz Shah Kotla. He stitched a match-defining 92-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer. Dhawan got out after scoring 56 runs off 41 balls, where he hit seven fours and one six. There was a slight stumble in Delhi’s run-chase as they lost few quick wickets towards the end. But Iyer kept his cool to take Delhi over the line with five wickets in hand. Have a look at the reasons for the defeat.
Also Read: Turning points of DC vs KXIP match
Catches win Matches
Kings XI Punjab was showing their batting powers with Chris Gayle being in the middle. They were cruising towards a big total with 100/3 in 12 overs but then came the moment of brilliance. Gayle smashed Sandeep Lamichhane a towering hit, which was going over the line until Colin Ingram grabbed it from the thin air. He maintained his balance and spotted the nearby fielder and threw it to Axar Patel. That catch changed the match for Delhi as they successfully restricted Punjab to a below-par total.
Dhawan-Iyer duo
Punjab had a sniff when they managed to run Prithvi Shaw out but the duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer didn’t allow Punjab to make inroads. Both batsmen played their shots without taking any risk and shared a match-defining 92 runs of the second wicket. Dhawan perished after scoring his fifty but Iyer was determined to take his team over the line. He remained unbeaten on 58 runs to take Delhi home by five wickets.
Also Read: Dhawan and Iyer leads Delhi to second win at home
Dew made it hard
KXIP bowlers were finding it hard to bowl with a wet ball. Delhi opted to field first keeping the dew factor in mind and Punjab had to bore the brunt. Spinners were finding it hard to control the wet ball and failed to make pressure. This turned out to be a crucial factor in this match.
