Kings XI Punjab continued on their late resurgence in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a five-wicket win against Delhi Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Punjab now have eight points from 10 matches and are placed fifth. Rajasthan Royals (RR), too, have eight points, but KL Rahul’s KXIP has a better net run rate (-0.177) than Steve Smith’s RR (-0.591) in the eight-team competition. Both teams are still to play four matches, same as No.1 Delhi, who have 14 points from 10 games.
Meanwhile, the highlight of the match was Shikhar Dhawan’s century as he created the IPL record of scoring hundreds in two consecutive matches. Courtesy of his 61-ball 106, Delhi Capitals had posted a commendable total of 164/5.
Chasing, the talismanic opening pair of skipper Rahul and Mayank Agrawal had a rare bad day at the office. But a collective effort from the Punjab middle-order, especially Nicholas Pooran (53 off 28 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (32 off 24 balls), helped them reaching the target with an over to spare.
KXIP were 56/3 wickets in 5.5 overs before Maxwell and Pooran took control of the proceedings and repaired the damage with a crucial 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Just after Pooran notched up his half-century in the 13th over, Kagiso Rabada struck to dismiss the KXIP batsman. Pooran’s 53, which came off 28 balls, was decorated with six boundaries and three maximums.
Two overs later, Rabada jolted DC once again, this time accounting for the wicket of Maxwell. However, it was too late for DC as Deepak Hooda (15 not out) and James Neesham (10 not out) didn’t let DC make any further onslaughts and shared an unbeaten 20-run partnership to drive their side home with an over to spare.
For DC, Rabada picked two wickets for 27 runs while Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin settled with one each.
Earlier, Dhawan single-handedly took DC to 164/5 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to his unbeaten blitzkrieg. In the process, the left-hander also became the only player in the history of the league to smash two consecutive tons. Dhawan’s master class was laced with 12 boundaries and three hits into the stands.
Opting to bat on winning the toss, DC top order failed to fire. However, it was Dhawan, who kept his wicket safe and despite receiving little support from the others, showed grit and determination to lift his side to a fighting total.
DC skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were the joint second highest scorers after managing 14 runs each.
KXIP pacer Mohammed Shami once again impressed as he bagged two wickets for just 28 runs from his four overs quota while James Neesham, Murugan Ashwin and Glenn Maxwell picked one wicket each.
Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab: 167/5 wkts in 19 overs (Nicholas Pooran 53, Glen Maxwell 32; Kagiso Rabada 2/27) beat Delhi Capitals: 164/5 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 106 not out, Shreyas Iyer 14; Mohammed Shami 2/28) by 5 wickets
With IANS inputs