Riding on a scorching blow of Nicholas pooran (53 of 28b; 6×4, 3×6), they pursued total comfort. More importantly, Kings XI’s middle order finally clicked with Glenn Maxwell (32 of 24b; 3×4) finding much-needed form.
SCOREKEEPER | POINTS TABLE
Kings XI needed more than a cameo from Nicholas Pooran, and the youngster played a winning shot. However, his entrance began with a note of hara-kiri. First ran Mayank Agarwal after a lot of confusion and then it’s almost over. I wanted a single that was never there and if the release to Rishabh Pant had been better it would have been on the way.
After that, he showed why he is an exciting talent. He added 69 runs on just 40 balls with Glenn Maxwell. The young man completed his half century in 27 balls. A ball later, Pooran put it on with a glove while swinging off the line, and Kagiso rabada had her man. But by the time Pooran came out, the order rate was below six runs above. Deepak Hooda (15 in 22b; 1×4) and Jimmy Neesham (10 in 8b; 1×6)) saw their team at home with no twists or turns.
Kings XI started the chase off with a shaky start, as they were down to 57 by three at the end of the Powerplay. Orange cap holder KL Rahul (15 of 11b; 1×4, 1×6) came out cheap, while Chris Gayle (29 off; 13b 3×4 2×6) failed to convert his start, but set the tone. The veteran collected 26 runs from a Tushar Deshpande’s over.
Previously, Kings XI restricted the Capitals to 164 to 5. Shami (2/28) was the bowlers’ choice, conceding just 13 runs in his two overs upon death.
Was another Shikhar dhawan Show. Dhawan, who waited until his 168th Indian Premier League (IPL) entry in his first century, became the first to score consecutive IPL centuries.
01:26IPL 2020: Dhawan’s ton in vain as Punjab beat Delhi
On a surface where other hitters from the Capitals couldn’t get going, Dhawan (106 for 61b; 12×4, 3×6) created the story.
The 34-year-old left-hander started from where he had gone against Chennai Super Kings. He startled Maxwell with a sweep of six in the middle of the wicket at the first change. He then hit three limits of Shami’s second. Dhawan also completed 5,000 IPL executions.
Lost pattern of Delhi Shreyas Iyer (14 vs 12b 0x4 1×6) in the ninth over, brilliantly caught by Rahul on the side of Murugan Ashwin’s bowling leg. Pant (14 in 20b; 1×4) looked rusty on his return from injury. Unmolested by his teammates throwing away his grounds, Dhawan kept the innings going by setting limits regularly. Much depended on Marcus stoinis (9 of 10b) to end Delhi’s entry with a flourish, but he too disappointed, perishing on the 17th at Shami’s bowling alley.
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