Delhi Capitals overpower Punjab despite Agarwal 99*

The Delhi Capitals are back on top of the IPL points table after another statement victory over the Punjab Kings. Delhi restricted the Kings to a below-par score of 166 in Ahmedabad before completing the chase within 18 overs thanks to a controlled innings from orange cap holder Shikhar Dhawan and a lightning start from Prithvi Shaw.

Unfortunately for the Kings, they were without their captain and talisman KL Rahul for this tie after the Karnataka batsman was diagnosed with acute appendicitis which would require surgery. Mayank Agarwal led the side in Rahul’s absence and the opening batsman carried the torch with distinction in the Northern Derby. Agarwal led from the front for Punjab to score an outstanding 99* but unfortunately had very little support from the rest of the team. While Mayank scored 99 from 58 balls, the remaining players only managed 62 runs from 62 balls as the Kings put up a middling total of 166.

Punjab chose to bring in Dawid Malan in place of the struggling Nicholas Pooran but the World Number One batter only scored a run a ball 26 and was eventually dismissed by Axar Patel. Despite the lack of assistance, Agarwal timed his innings to perfection to make the second-highest score by a captain on IPL debut. The Punjab opener reached his fifty off 37 balls before accelerating towards the death to score 34 runs off the final two overs to help the Kings put up a defendable total.

Despite all of Agarwal’s efforts, Delhi were always in control of their run chase thanks to another strong performance from their openers. Prithvi Shaw continued to give Delhi the momentum during the first 6 overs and the Capitals now have four of the top five powerplay scores in the tournament thanks to his exploits. Shaw scored 39 off 22 balls against Punjab and has now hit 223 runs at a strike rate of nearly 200 in the Powerplay this season. Shaw was eventually dismissed by another dream delivery from Harpreet Brar but the damage was already done with Delhi scoring 63 in the first 6.

Dhawan took over the reins following the Bombay opener’s dismissal and carried his bat to the end to help Delhi chase their target within 17.4 overs. With this victory, Delhi go back on top of the IPL table with six victories and 12 points so far this season. Punjab, on the other hand, have already lost 5 games and now face the daunting task of manoeuvring the rest of the season without their captain KL Rahul.