Delhi Capitals beat Punjab Kings by nine wickets in a lopsided Indian Premier League encounter at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The game, which was in jeopardy after Mitchell Marsh, Tim Seifert, and a few support staff in the DC camp tested positive for coronavirus, was shifted to the Cricket Club of India, where the Capitals put on an absolute clinic, outperforming PBKS comprehensively in every single department.
The Punjab batsmen didn’t know what hit them as they slumped to a measly score of 115 before Delhi openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner made a mockery of the Punjab bowling attack, eventually wrapping up a comfortable nine-wicket win.
Punjab, who were put into bat by Rishabh Pant, began quite well thanks to Mayank Agarwal. The Karnataka opener scored four boundaries before he, Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone all departed within the space of 11 deliveries. The Punjab lineup was absolutely clueless in the middle, as the wickets continued to fall like nine pins.
Jitesh Sharma was a lone bright spot in what was a massively unexciting Punjab innings. The youngster got 32 which took his side past the three-figure mark, which looked highly unlikely at one point.
Axar Patel was magnificent with the ball, picking up two wickets for just ten runs in his quota of four overs, completely stifling the Punjab batsmen. The brilliant bowling effort from DC meant that the side were in touching distance of their third win this season and had been served with a massive opportunity to improve their net run-rate.
With a target of 116 to chase, Shaw and Warner hardly wasted any time at all, sensing the opportunity to boost their net run rate. Shaw got off to a blistering start, scoring four boundaries off the first eight balls that he faced. Warner caught up quickly, as the duo scored at above 12 an over during the powerplay.
They finished the powerplay at 81/0 before Shaw was dismissed. Warner and Sarfaraz Khan knocked off the remaining runs without much effort. The Australian also got to his half-century, the 56th of his Premier League career, a record in itself. The Capitals won by nine wickets, making it three wins for them and also bettering their run rate by a significant amount.
Brief scores
Delhi Capitals 119/1 (Warner 60*; Shaw 41; Chahar 1/21) beat Punjab Kings 115 (Sharma 32; Agarwal 24; Patel 2/10) by nine wickets
