Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan notched up brilliant half-centuries as Delhi Capitals defeated Kings XI Punjab by 5 wickets in the 37th match of IPL 2019 at Kotla on Saturday (April 20).
Chasing 164 to win, DC lost Prithvi Shaw (13) early due to a mix-up with his fellow opener Dhawan. Unperturbed by Shaw’s departure, Dhawan (56 off 41 balls) and Iyer (58 not out off 49 balls) forged a partnership of 92 runs to lay the foundation of victory. In the middle-order, Colin Ingram played a cameo of 9-ball 19 as the Capitals eventually reach the target in 19.4 overs.
Speaking after the match, DC skipper Shreyas Iyer lauded veteran left-hander Dhawan for constantly providing brilliant starts.
“We got a good start from Shikhar today, it made it easier for the batsmen to follow. He (Dhawan) has been giving us brilliant starts. If you get 50 in the Powerplay it’s really good and we got 60 today,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
He also seemed satisfied after guiding his side over the line.
“Really satisfied on winning this one after losing three home games. The way we played, it was really good to see. Losing them was really disappointing at the start but we recovered well,” he said. “Very satisfying to stay till the end. One of the top four has to stay till the end. I took the responsibility today and hopefully continue through the rest of the matches.”
Iyer said the Kotla pitch was not suited for the kind of stroke makers his team has.
“The kind of batsmen we have are on the rise players and love the ball coming on bat. But the pitch is really slow to play on. If you get set though you can get runs. Today I took the responsibility,” he remarked.
Earlier, Chris Gayle (69) scored his 28th half-century as Kings XI Punjab scored 163/7. For Delhi Capitals, Sandeep Lamichhane was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3/40 in his 4 overs.
Talking about Lamichhane, Iyer said: “He (Lamichhane) is a very confident lad. When he goes for runs, he comes back strong. He’s fearless and positive in his approach. He benefits from Amit Mishra’s experience also.”
Delhi Capitals will take on Rajasthan Royals in their next match on Monday (April 22) at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
