Punjab Kings (PBKS) were hit by a terrible news on the match day as their captain KL Rahul was hospitalized for acute appendicitis. Doctors suggested surgery for Rahul and Punjab had to appoint a new captain from this game. The in-form Mayank Agarwal was the choice and he had to lead an inexperienced side in the absence of Rahul. With Rahul ruled out, Prabhsimran Singh retained his place in the playing XI while the no. 1 ranked ICC batsman Dawid Malan replaced struggling Nicholas Pooran in the side.
After being sent into bat first, Punjab Kings struggled to get a partnership going. However, their captain Mayank Agarwal held one end tight registering an unbeaten 99* in the process. He played 58 balls for this score which included 8 fours and 4 sixes. Dawid Malan (26 off 26) is the only other PBKS player in this innings to post a 20+ score. Though Mayank stayed unbeaten in this innings, he got little support from the other end and as a result Punjab made just 166/6 in 20 overs.
Kagiso Rabada has been the pick of Delhi Capitals (DC) in this innings with bowling figures of 3/36 in his 4 overs. The full-toss delivery which Rabada bowled to dismiss Chris Gayle has been the highlight of his bowling spell. Young pacer Avesh Khan and left-arm spinner Axar Patel with a wicket each are the other wicket-takers for DC in this innings.
Chasing a par target at this venue, DC openers got them off to a flier adding 63 runs in the powerplay. However, the stand was broken with the departure of Prithvi Shaw in the first delivery of the 7th over. Shikhar Dhawan, however, remained unbeaten on 69* (off 47 deliveries) to take them to victory with 7 wickets in hand. Shimron Hetmyer (16* off 4) played a little cameo in the 18th over and that helped DC get to the target with 2.2 overs to spare in their innings.
Even though Mayank Agarwal remained on the losing side, he was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock with the bat – 99* off 58 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes. With this victory, Delhi Capitals moved to the top of the points table with 12 points while Punjab Kings are stationed at sixth position with 6 points against their name.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals – 167/3 in 17.4 overs (Shikhar Dhawan – 69*, Harpreet Brar – 1/19) defeated Punjab Kings – 166/6 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal – 99*, Kagiso Rabada – 3/36) by a margin of 7 wickets
Toss: Delhi Capitals won the toss and opt to bowl first
Teams:
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal (c), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan
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