Mehul Bhattacharya: On Sunday night at Wankhede stadium (Mumbai ) ,Delhi Capitals triumphed over Punjab Kings by 6 wickets in a high-scoring thriller at in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) with some quality cricket out on display throughout the game. The game was high-scoring, and even had some quality shots and deliveries on display for all to see.
In what was always predicted to be an explosive game at the Wankhede, Delhi Capitals won the toss, put Punjab to bat first. Punjab slammed the accelerator right from the second over, as Mayank Agarwal made an explosive start to his innings. By the time the powerplay ended, Punjab Kings were cruising along at 59 for no loss. KL Rahul and Mayank had showcased their brilliant chemistry together in the previous edition of the IPL, and they put on yet another credible partnership, putting on 122 runs together before Mayank Agarwal’s brilliant knock of 69 came to an end at the hands of IPL debutant Meriwala. Two more wickets a little later on in the form of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle meant that Delhi were able to slow Punjab down considerably. This, however, didn’t stop the batting side from posting a competitive score, as they ended the innings with a score of 195 for the loss of 4 wickets thanks to Deepak Hooda and Shahrukh Khan. Aside from Meriwala, Chris Woakes, Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan picked up a wicket each for the Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals got off to a strong start, similar to Punjab, however they suffered their first blow of the match in the last over the powerplay, when Prithvi Shaw lofted it straight to Gayle, meaning that after six overs, Delhi stood at 62 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. Dhawan played a masterclass of an innings, holding through till the latter part of the innings, as he was accompanied by Steve Smith and then Rishabh Pant. Dhawan pulled out a brilliant repertoire of shots, showing his class throughout his innings. By the time the 14th over came around, Delhi looked to be in pole position to chase the target down, however Jhye Richardson perfectly read what Dhawan was trying to do, bowling him out right before the over ended. The game was far from over by this point, as Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis were faced with quite the achievable goal, however Rishabh Pant lost his wicket off a poor shot. This, however, didn’t affect the outcome for Delhi as Lalit and Stoinis finished the game off in style for the Capitals.