Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have finally managed to get back to the winning ways in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 as they registered three consecutive wins by defeating the Delhi Capitals (DC). They have defeated the top two teams of the tournament, to jump to the fifth position with the help of a brilliant fifty from Nicholas Pooran and brilliant bowling from Mohammed Shami. For a change, KL Rahul was dismissed early and Mayank Agarwal also got run-out in a mix-up with Pooran.
However, Chris Gayle and Pooran had started assaulting the DC bowlers to take KXIP way ahead in the chase. The Universe Boss smashed 26 runs off the bowling of inexperienced, Tushar Deshpande, but the southpaw was dismissed by Ravi Ashwin in the very next over but, Pooran took charge then and sowed no mercy on the DC bowlers. Nicholas Pooran soon raced away to a 27-ball half-century as he made sure that the required run-rate came below six.
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At the other end, Glenn Maxwell finally showed glimpses of returning to the form as he scored 32 off 24 balls and but he was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada when his team was needing just 18 runs to win. Deepak Hooda and Jimmy Neesham then duly completed the chase without any panic with an over and five wickets in hand.
After opting to bat first, it was all about Shikhar Dhawan continued from where he left off against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during his unbeaten century. His fellow opener, Prithvi Shaw, and skipper, Shreyas Iyer failed to do much as they were dismissed early.
After 10 overs, DC was 83/2 and looked set to post a score around 180. However, for some strange reasons, DC failed to up the ante owing to some misery bowling from spinners, Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi, who bowled well. To make it worse, Rishabh Pant was dismissed after eating up too many balls.
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However, Dhawan kept on smashing boundaries despite other batsmen getting in and getting out at the other end. He scored his second successive century off just 57 balls. However, KXIP did extremely well in the death overs conceding only 25 runs in the last three overs. DC, despite a stunning 106* from Dhawan, only managed to reach the tally of 164 runs for the loss of five wickets in their 20 overs.
Hits
Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran had started assaulting the DC bowlers to take KXIP way ahead in the chase. He took charge then and showed no mercy on the DC bowlers. Pooran soon raced away to a 27-ball half-century as he made sure that the required run-rate came below six.
Shikhar Dhawan
After failing to score consistent runs basis in the first five matches of the IPL 2020, Shikhar Dhawan was desperate to score and in the last four games, he has surpassed the 50-run mark consistently. He helped DC to reach the target of 165 as he stashed 106* runs in just 61 deliveries with the help of 12 fours and three sixes.
Flops
Prithvi Shaw
After scoring a brilliant half-century in the game against KKR, Prithvi Shaw was expected to continue his form but, DC lost Prithvi Shaw to Jimmy Neesham in the first over itself.
