PBKS vs DC in 50 Words
The Northern Derby brings out a lot of raw emotion from fans on both sides and has seen some close contests. However, in IPL 2021, DC came up trumps comfortably on both occasions. On this night, it was Rabada (3/36) and Dhawan (69* off 47) who stole the limelight.
The Kagiso Rabada We Know and Love
Rishabh Pant won yet another coin toss, and once more opted to chase. “Why fix something that ain’t broken?” was the motto of the day as DC went in with an unchanged Playing XI. It was a strong start by the powerplay bowlers. After Ishant began proceedings with a maiden, Stoinis followed it up with a quiet second over. Once KG came into the attack in the fourth over, the wickets followed too.
First he got rid of Prabhsimran Singh courtesy of a fine catch at mid-off by one of the safest fielders in the IPL, Steve Smith. Avesh Khan got hit for a couple of cracking boundaries by Gayle, and the big man deposited one of Rabada’s deliveries into the stands too. However, Rabada came roaring back to send his stumps flying on the very next ball. When you’re Kagiso Rabada, you can beat world-class batsmen for pace even with full tosses!
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At 39/2, the powerplay went pretty well for the men in DC blue. Apart from the odd boundary, the spinners Axar and Lalit kept things tight till the halfway mark, only letting the Punjab Kings get to 63/2.
It was time for the Kings to up the ante, and Malan targeted Ishant Sharma and got a six over extra cover and another boundary through fine leg. Malan’s cameo was cut short by Axar Patel, who clean bowled him off an attempted slog sweep. Bapu doesn’t pay much heed to left-arm spinners vs left-handed batsmen match-ups, does he?
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To make things better, PBKS gifted us another wicket through a terrible mix-up that saw Deepak Hooda walk back to the pavilion. Mayank Agarwal had to take it upon himself to get his side to a good total in his first match as captain, and he did that with aplomb.
First, he took Ishant on and scored a six and four off his over to go past fifty. Then, he took Patel on for a couple of boundaries. Shahrukh Khan’s wicket at the other end didn’t deter him, nor did Kagiso Rabada’s third scalp in the form of Chris Jordan.
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Mayank piled on 25 of the 34 runs Punjab scored in the penultimate and final overs to propel Punjab to 166/6. Unfortunately, the 4,6,4 off the final three deliveries could only get him to 99*, agonisingly short of another IPL hundred. But he’d done the job for his team, and it was up to the in-form DC batting order to chase this down.
Shikhar Dhawan for King in the North!
Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw started the chase as the pair with the most 50+ stands so far in IPL 2021, and they went on to prove why they were at the top. Prithvi Shaw was the aggressor once more, as he took one of their premier bowlers Mohammed Shami for 15 runs off the second over of the innings. DC were up and running.
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Riley Meredith’s pace was the only thing that troubled the openers a little bit, and he bowled a quiet over in the third. Everyone else though, went to the ropes and over it at the hands of Gabbar and Shaw. This time Dhawan cracked a couple of boundaries off Shami, before Shaw welcomed Ravi Bishnoi to the bowling crease with a gorgeous inside-out extra-cover drive for maximum. Chris Jordan was taken apart too, as Shaw’s pull for six and some deft touches from both the openers for four took DC’s powerplay score to a healthy 63 for no loss.
Well, the wickets column changed on the very next ball as a beauty from Harpreet Brar bowled Prithvi Shaw after a quickfire 39. Steve Smith joined Gabbar at the crease and kept things moving along smoothly, ticking away the ones and twos with the sporadic boundary. The chase was well and truly on track.
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At 96/1 after 11, we were ahead of the required run rate, but Dhawan and Co. wanted to finish things off quickly to add to their already healthy NRR on the points table. In that endeavour, Shikhar Dhawan absolutely carted a slog sweep over mid-wicket. Steve Smith lost his wicket trying to hoick Meredith uncharacteristically, but he had played a handy knock of 25.
Ravi Bishnoi came back on and faced the heat from both the southpaws. Dhawan smoked another slog sweep to bring up his fifty in some style! Rishabh Pant reverse swept his first ball for four, and Ravi Bishnoi had no answers to the onslaught.
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Mohammed Shami was taken to all parts on the night as Dhawan played the pull for four before Rishabh Pant stylishly whipped him for six. After Pant’s dismissal, Hetmyer came to the crease and went six, six, four to finish things off in a canter with 7 wickets and 14 balls to spare.
The Kings in the North in IPL 2021, Delhi Capitals had beaten Punjab Kings convincingly in both the fixtures of the Northern Derby. The star on both the occasions? Shikhar Dhawan - the man who now has the most 50+ scores in successful run chases in the history of the IPL with 19, and also became the first man to score 100+ boundaries against one opposition in the IPL - Punjab Kings.
Oh, by the way, he’s got the Orange Cap too. The eyes light up and the smile grows wider as we imagine what Shikhar Dhawan and Delhi Capitals will go on to achieve in the rest of the season.
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Brief Scores
Punjab Kings 166-6 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal 99* off 58, Dawid Malan 26 off 26, Kagiso Rabada 3-36, Axar Patel 1-21); Delhi Capitals 167-3 in 17.4 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 69* off 47, Prithvi Shaw 39 off 22, Harpreet Brar 1-19, Chris Jordan 1-21)
PBKS vs DC in 50 Words
The Northern Derby brings out a lot of raw emotion from fans on both sides and has seen some close contests. However, in IPL 2021, DC came up trumps comfortably on both occasions. On this night, it was Rabada (3/36) and Dhawan (69* off 47) who stole the limelight.
The Kagiso Rabada We Know and Love
Rishabh Pant won yet another coin toss, and once more opted to chase. “Why fix something that ain’t broken?” was the motto of the day as DC went in with an unchanged Playing XI. It was a strong start by the powerplay bowlers. After Ishant began proceedings with a maiden, Stoinis followed it up with a quiet second over. Once KG came into the attack in the fourth over, the wickets followed too.
First he got rid of Prabhsimran Singh courtesy of a fine catch at mid-off by one of the safest fielders in the IPL, Steve Smith. Avesh Khan got hit for a couple of cracking boundaries by Gayle, and the big man deposited one of Rabada’s deliveries into the stands too. However, Rabada came roaring back to send his stumps flying on the very next ball. When you’re Kagiso Rabada, you can beat world-class batsmen for pace even with full tosses!
View this post on Instagram
At 39/2, the powerplay went pretty well for the men in DC blue. Apart from the odd boundary, the spinners Axar and Lalit kept things tight till the halfway mark, only letting the Punjab Kings get to 63/2.
It was time for the Kings to up the ante, and Malan targeted Ishant Sharma and got a six over extra cover and another boundary through fine leg. Malan’s cameo was cut short by Axar Patel, who clean bowled him off an attempted slog sweep. Bapu doesn’t pay much heed to left-arm spinners vs left-handed batsmen match-ups, does he?
View this post on Instagram
To make things better, PBKS gifted us another wicket through a terrible mix-up that saw Deepak Hooda walk back to the pavilion. Mayank Agarwal had to take it upon himself to get his side to a good total in his first match as captain, and he did that with aplomb.
First, he took Ishant on and scored a six and four off his over to go past fifty. Then, he took Patel on for a couple of boundaries. Shahrukh Khan’s wicket at the other end didn’t deter him, nor did Kagiso Rabada’s third scalp in the form of Chris Jordan.
View this post on Instagram
Mayank piled on 25 of the 34 runs Punjab scored in the penultimate and final overs to propel Punjab to 166/6. Unfortunately, the 4,6,4 off the final three deliveries could only get him to 99*, agonisingly short of another IPL hundred. But he’d done the job for his team, and it was up to the in-form DC batting order to chase this down.
Shikhar Dhawan for King in the North!
Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw started the chase as the pair with the most 50+ stands so far in IPL 2021, and they went on to prove why they were at the top. Prithvi Shaw was the aggressor once more, as he took one of their premier bowlers Mohammed Shami for 15 runs off the second over of the innings. DC were up and running.
View this post on Instagram
Riley Meredith’s pace was the only thing that troubled the openers a little bit, and he bowled a quiet over in the third. Everyone else though, went to the ropes and over it at the hands of Gabbar and Shaw. This time Dhawan cracked a couple of boundaries off Shami, before Shaw welcomed Ravi Bishnoi to the bowling crease with a gorgeous inside-out extra-cover drive for maximum. Chris Jordan was taken apart too, as Shaw’s pull for six and some deft touches from both the openers for four took DC’s powerplay score to a healthy 63 for no loss.
Well, the wickets column changed on the very next ball as a beauty from Harpreet Brar bowled Prithvi Shaw after a quickfire 39. Steve Smith joined Gabbar at the crease and kept things moving along smoothly, ticking away the ones and twos with the sporadic boundary. The chase was well and truly on track.
View this post on Instagram
At 96/1 after 11, we were ahead of the required run rate, but Dhawan and Co. wanted to finish things off quickly to add to their already healthy NRR on the points table. In that endeavour, Shikhar Dhawan absolutely carted a slog sweep over mid-wicket. Steve Smith lost his wicket trying to hoick Meredith uncharacteristically, but he had played a handy knock of 25.
Ravi Bishnoi came back on and faced the heat from both the southpaws. Dhawan smoked another slog sweep to bring up his fifty in some style! Rishabh Pant reverse swept his first ball for four, and Ravi Bishnoi had no answers to the onslaught.
View this post on Instagram
Mohammed Shami was taken to all parts on the night as Dhawan played the pull for four before Rishabh Pant stylishly whipped him for six. After Pant’s dismissal, Hetmyer came to the crease and went six, six, four to finish things off in a canter with 7 wickets and 14 balls to spare.
The Kings in the North in IPL 2021, Delhi Capitals had beaten Punjab Kings convincingly in both the fixtures of the Northern Derby. The star on both the occasions? Shikhar Dhawan - the man who now has the most 50+ scores in successful run chases in the history of the IPL with 19, and also became the first man to score 100+ boundaries against one opposition in the IPL - Punjab Kings.
Oh, by the way, he’s got the Orange Cap too. The eyes light up and the smile grows wider as we imagine what Shikhar Dhawan and Delhi Capitals will go on to achieve in the rest of the season.
View this post on Instagram
Brief Scores
Punjab Kings 166-6 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal 99* off 58, Dawid Malan 26 off 26, Kagiso Rabada 3-36, Axar Patel 1-21); Delhi Capitals 167-3 in 17.4 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 69* off 47, Prithvi Shaw 39 off 22, Harpreet Brar 1-19, Chris Jordan 1-21)
