IPL 2020

#Dream11IPL 2020 : Nicholas Pooran’s Blitz Helps Kings XI Punjab Beat Delhi Capitals By 5 Wickets

Picture : Twitter / IPL

Kings XI Punjab have found their winning ways it seems. In another exciting encounter the Kings beat the table toppers Delhi Capitals by 5 wickets in Dubai and keep alive their play-offs chances.

Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bat first. Prithvi Shaw’s poor run continued as he was out early for 7 . But there was no stopping the imperious Shikhar Dhawan. He scored his second successive ton. Thus becoming the first player in IPL history to score back to back hundreds. And in the process completed 5000 runs in the IPL. The left-hander joined IPL’s 5,000-run elite club, comprising Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and David Warner.

Shikhar was in sublime form with the bat and scored a majestic unbeaten 106 off mere 61 balls with 12 fours and three maximums . It was literally a one- man show for the Capitals by Dhawan as the rest of the batsmen could score mere 58 of 59 balls remaining. Shreyas Iyer ( 14 ) off 12 balls, fit again Rishabh Pant 14 off 20 balls, Marcus Stoinis ( 9) and Shimron Hetmyer ( 10). The Delhi Capitals one felt were at least 20 runs shortof the target they had reached at the end of their twenty over that of 164/5.

For the Kings, Mohammed Shami was excellent towards the end and finished with 2/ 28 (4 overs) , Glenn Maxwell 1/ 31 ( 4 overs) , James Neesham 1/17 (2 overs) , Murugan Ashwin 1/ 33 ( 4 overs)

In reply the Kings XI , Lost in- form openers skipper K L Rahul ( 17 ) and Mayank Agarwal ( 5) run-out early. But Chris Gayle did not let go the intent with a blistering 29 off mere 13 balls . Gayle in- fact scored 26 runs in an over off the bowling of Delhi Capitals pacer Tushar Deshpande in the fifth over of the match. It was an incredible seventh time Gayle had hit a bowler for over 25 runs in an over in IPL history. Clearly proving why the Universe Boss is lethal and devastating in this format of the game . But Gayle blitz did not last long as he was soon foxed by a beauty from Ravichandran Ashwin.

After Gayle exit his West Indian tem- mate Nicholas Pooran took the stage and played a fantastic counter- attacking innings of 53 off 28 balls with six fours and three sixes. Pooran was brilliant and played shots all around the ground. Glenn Maxwell finally got runs under his belt ( 32) he was out to a rash shot though. Deepak Hooda not out 15 and Kiwi all – rounder James Neesham not out 10 and finishing the match with a six saw the team home with an over to spare. Kings finished at 167/ 5 in 19 overs.

For the Delhi Capitals, Kagiso Rabada was once again impressive 2/ 27 ( 4 overs) ,Axar Patel 1/ 27 ( 4 overs) , Tushar Deshpande 0/ 41 ( 2 overs) gave away 26 runs in an over to Gayle, Ravichandran Ashwin 1/ 27 ( 4 overs), Marcus Stoinis 0/14 ( 1 over)

After the match, Delhi remains at the top of the table with 14 points. The kings have moved up to fifth slot . The top four as of now reads – Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders.

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