Delhi Capitals (DC) bounced back with a victory after beating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 11 of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

Shikhar Dhawan’s magnificent 92(49) at the top helped DC edge out PBKS as they chased down the target of 196 in a run-fest at Wankhede.

In the chase, the DC openers got off to the desired start, with Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw taking on the new ball and adding 21 runs in the first two overs.

Shaw took charge of the attack as he lofted Mohammad Shami for a six over long-on in the second over. The DC openers then hit a couple of fours off Jalaj Saxena, who came in to bowl the third over.

DC were going at over 10 runs per over at the start and Shaw went after the length deliveries of Jhye Richardson as he flicked the pacer towards the leg side for four and then lofted him over long-off for maximum.

It was then time for Dhawan to exhibit his range of shots after hitting Shami for three fours in an over. PBKS got rid of the dangerous Shaw and the short ball did the trick for Arshdeep Singh as the right-hander edged one to Gayle at square-leg.

Steve Smith joined Dhawan in the middle as the two worked around the ball and played out a couple of quiet overs, with Deepak Hooda and Saxena bowling from each ends.

Dhawan then broke the shackles and hit two consecutive fours off Hooda before notching up a half-century. In the 10th over, he launched a maximum off Richardson as DC moved to 99/1 at the halfway stage of the chase.

Riley Meredith’s short ball did the trick for PBKS, as he dismissed Steve Smith for 9.

Dhawan carried his rhythm and accelerated by smashing Shami over long-on for a six and then creamed three fours in a row off Meredith in the 14th over, helping DC score 18 runs in that over.  

Rishabh Pant joined the party and smashed his first six of the game before Richardson brought an end to Dhawan’s fine knock of 92 after the DC batsman played a premeditated shot to a delivery that crashed into the stumps.

DC got close to the target but the job was yet to be done as they required 36 off the final four overs.  

Shami bowled a long 17th over that included a front-foot no ball followed by a delivery that was above waist height.

Stoinis made full use of the free hits, hitting two fours and a six to bring up 20 off the over.

However, Richardson scalped his second wicket in form of the DC skipper, who miscued the shot that went straight to Hooda at long-on, who took a juggling catch.

Lalit Yadav, who walked out to bat after Pant’s fall, supported Stonis with 2 boundaries after the latter finished the run-chase in style with a boundary and DC chased the total of 195.

Earlier, PBKS, who were put in to bat first, were off to a flying start after Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul took on the debutant Lukman Meriwala in the second over and scored 20 off the left-arm pacer, smashing three boundaries and a six, courtesy a free hit that pushed the PBKS openers to accelerate early on.

Mayank then creamed two consecutive boundaries off Chris Woakes and backed his shots with solid timing.

The 50-run stand was up for the opening wicket and the Mayank-Rahul duo was striking the boundaries in plenty on a belter of a wicket, scoring at nearly ten runs per over at the end of the powerplay.

Regardless of the surface, PBKS batting got even easier because of the number of easy-scoring opportunities offered by the DC bowlers, right from the start.

R Ashwin and Lalit Yadav couldn’t make a difference in the middle overs and with the foundation that was set for the Punjab Kings, they were eying a huge total.

Mayank brought his fifty with a four with an edge over the keeper’s head off Avesh Khan, who bowled his first over of the innings and DC were 94/0 at the 10-over mark.

Mayank and Rahul were dealing in boundaries at the Wankhede as the 100 partnership was up for the opening wicket as well for PBKS.

The eleventh over of the innings saw Mayank and Rahul hammer Kagiso Rabada for three sixes in an over with three quality strokes that cleared the ropes with ease, thanks to Rabada’s pace and the DC pacer was under the pump.

Avesh Khan on the other end, bowled tight lengths and had Shaw held onto a sharp catch, he would have dismissed KL Rahul.

Meriwala came back to bowl the 13th over of the innings and provided the all-important breakthrough as Mayank chipped a catch straight to Dhawan at deep point and got out for 69 (36). 

KL Rahul, on the other end, slammed a half-century and continued with his superb batting, hitting Avesh Khan for a boundary and a six in the 15th over. However, the right-hander got out for 61 in the next over as Rabada gave DC their second wicket.

Deepak Hooda, walked in next, smashed the first ball that was aimed at his ribs, for a maximum.

Woakes, who bowled the 17th over, ended up overstepping and paid full price for it as Chris Gayle sliced the free-hit over the ropes. However, on the very next delivery, the West Indian left-hander couldn’t connect the slower ball and gave away a simple catch at covers. 

Hooda continued with his explosive shots against Avesh Khan but DC got yet another breakthrough in form of Nicholas Pooran.

The last over of the innings, bowled by Woakes, went for 16 runs, courtesy Shahrukh Khan, who played a nice cameo with 2 fours and a six as the Punjab Kings posted 195/4 on board.

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals (Shikhar Dhawan 92, Prithvi Shaw 32; Jhye Richardson 2/41) beat Punjab Kings 195/4 (Mayank Agarwal 69, KL Rahul 61; Lukman Meriwala 1/32) by 6 wickets