DC vs PBKS: Punjab Kings stumbled to 115 – their lowest total of the season – on a sticky surface at the same venue two days after scoring 427 runs and nearly chasing down RR’s 217. The slower bowlers of the Delhi Capitals had a field day, and Rishabh Pant’s team did well to keep their focus on the field to pick up two crucial points (and a major NRR push) despite the extremely worrisome covid issues behind the scenes.
DC vs PBKS: Slow bowlers shine
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Lalit Yadav each took two wickets and gave up 45 runs in their 10 overs. Punjab Kings’ biggest threat was Axar, who had made it a practice of flying out of the blocks in the PowerPlay. DC realized the ball was stalling on the pitch in Lalit Yadav’s fourth over that run-making against the spinners would be difficult.
Lalit and Khaleel Ahmed had already dismissed openers Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan when Axar came on to bowl. However, Pant’s left-arm spinner took out the in-form Liam Livingstone, who appeared to be in command of the innings by giving the spinner the charge, but was undone by Pant’s crisp turn and quick stumping.
Also Read: IPL 2022: DC vs RR Match 34 Prediction
DC vs PBKS: How did the pacers approach the game?
Shardul Thakur’s second over of the match, which featured three boundaries, suggested that another big 200-plus match could be on the cards until the spinners turned the tables. Khaleel Ahmed only bowled two overs for 20 runs, but he was successful, removing another PBKS threat in Jonny Bairstow and dismissing Shahrukh Khan. Before the spinners took control, Mustafizur Rahman was also crucial, halting Mayank Agarwal in his tracks after the PBKS captain got off to a fast start with a couple of boundaries.
DC vs PBKS: The bizarre PBKS batting
I was uncharacteristically drowsy. This was a collective awful day for a side with one of the most exciting top orders in the game, as they couldn’t cope with the conditions. The attempt to rebuild after Bairstow’s dismissal in the seventh over was cautious, as DC’s spinners controlled the middle overs. Shahrukh and Jitesh Sharma took PBKS from 54 for 4 in the seventh over to 85 for 4 in 12 overs, but they crumbled from there. There were no boundaries between the 10th and 17th overs, with only 15 fours and a single six (off #9 Rahul Chahar’s willow) in the innings.
DC vs PBKS: No recovery in the second innings?
There are none at all. Prithvi Shaw and David Warner added insult to injury by opening the innings with a 14-run over against Vaibhav Arora and not skipping a beat even against Kagiso Rabada. They raced to 75 for 0 in 5 overs, denying Mayank Agarwal the opportunity to bring his spinners into the game and give some excitement to the chase.
Prithvi Shaw was bowled by Rahul Chahar in the sixth over, but DC had already scored 83 runs. Warner stayed on to complete the chase, scoring an unbeaten 60 off 30 balls, his 53rd IPL fifty and third in a row.
DC vs PBKS: Brief scores
Brief scores: Punjab Kings (PBKS) 115 in 20 overs (Jitesh Sharma 32, Mayank Agarwal 24; Axar Patel 2-10, Lalit Yadav 2-11, Khaleel Ahmed 2-21) lost to Delhi Capitals (DC) 119 for 1 in 10.3 overs (David Warner 60*, Prithvi Shaw 41) by 9 wickets
