IPL 2020 Game 38 Review: 3 mistakes that cost DC the match against KXIP 

Kings XI Punjab continued their stunning comeback in IPL 2020, defeating table-toppers Delhi Capitals by five wickets in the 38th match of IPL 2020 at Dubai on Tuesday. Batting first after winning the toss, Delhi could only post 164 for 5 on the board despite Shikhar Dhawan’s record second consecutive century in the IPL. Kings XI Punjab lost their in-form openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal cheaply in the chase. However, the middle-order came to Punjab’s rescue and pulled them over the line as KXIP won their third game in a row. With Delhi suffering a setback, we take a look at three factors that cost them the match. 1. Shikhar Dhawan’s one-man show for DC Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan continued his stupendous form for the team. Having led the batting with a wonderful hundred against Chennai, the left-hander played yet another dominant innings to become the first player to score back-to-back hundreds in IPL history. He faced half the balls of Delhi’s innings -- 61 to be precise -- and remained unbeaten on 106. Dhawan slapped 12 fours and three sixes in his memorable innings. However, Dhawan’s innings was in stark contrast to the rest of Delhi’s batting. While Dhawan made 106 not out, Delhi could only post 164 on the board. In other words, the rest of the batting could only total 58 runs. Struggling opener Prithvi Shaw yet again fell early, making only seven. Skipper Shreyas Iyer also could not support Dhawan as he was dismissed caught down the leg for 14 from 12 balls. The other big names in the Delhi batting order, Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis, also failed. As a result, there was not a single decent partnership in the Delhi innings, and Dhawan was left to do all the scoring on his own. 2. Nicholas Pooran’s missed run out Delhi had their moments in the field, but could not utilise them to the fullest. They got off to an impressive start with the ball, with left-arm spinner Axar Patel sending back in-form KXIP skipper KL Rahul cheaply. Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Agarwal were then involved in a terrible mix-up, resulting in the latter being run-out for 5, and also hurting himself. He had to, in fact, limp off the field. In the eighth over, Delhi had another opportunity to put KXIP on the backfoot. But, they fluffed up the chance. On the fifth ball of the over, Pooran and Glenn Maxwell were involved in a major mix-up. Pooran tapped one and set off for a single, only to be sent back by Maxwell. The throw from short cover was slightly off-mark, but Rishabh Pant had enough time to gather the ball while diving and flick it on to the stumps. Pant did the same, but could not hit the stumps. Pooran survived and went on to hammer Delhi with a 28-ball 53. Pant’s miss went on to become a massive game-changing moment. 3. Tushar Deshpande’s 26-run over With KXIP having lost their prolific run-getter and skipper Rahul early, Delhi had a chance to build pressure on Punjab. For that, they needed to get their best bowler up against new man Chris Gayle. The answer here would obviously have been experienced offie Ravichandran Ashwin. Shreyas Iyer, however, preferred to go with the relatively inexperienced pacer Tushar Deshpande, and had to pay a heavy price for the same. Bowling the fifth over of the innings, Desphande’s friendly medium pace was easily attacked by Gayle as a massive 26 runs came off the over. Deshpande bowled gentle short of the length deliveries and slower balls, but it was all too easy for the West Indian, who hammered the bowler for three fours and two sixes. Brought into the attacks soon after, Ashwin immediately foxed Gayle, but the damage had been done.

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