IN PICS: IPL 2019, DC vs KXIP, Match 37

Chris Gayle, who scored 69, took on the Delhi Capitals spinners and pacer at equal ease. The big-hitting West Indian hit a four and a six off Ishant Sharma in the third over before smashing four fours off Lamichhane in the fourth over as Kings XI Punjab scored fifty in the powerplay. @BCCI

KXIP though struggled after that to get any quick wickets as Dhawan and DC skipper Shreyas Iyer put on a 92-run stand for the second wicket. While the two did not take any undue risks, they did not waste any opportunity to add some quick runs to the team’s total. @PTI

In chase, DC could not score a run in the first over and just when it looked that they are getting a move on, Mandeep Singh’s brilliance in the field ended Prithvi Shaw’s stay in the middle and gave KXIP their first breakthrough. @BCCI

While KL Rahul seemed in a mood to set the stage on fire after he hit Sandeep Lamichhane for a six and a four in the second over, it was the Nepal leg-spinner who had the final laugh as he dismissed Rahul in the same over to give Delhi Capitals their first breakthrough. @BCCI

Gayle continued to attack after bringing up his fifty but Lamichhane pushed KXIP on the backfoot, scalping two wickets in the 13th over as he sent Gayle and Sam Curran packing. While Colin Ingram and Axar’s tag-team work near the rope ended Gayle’s knock, Curran was out caught and bowled. @BCCI

Dhawan, who scored 56 runs, had his share of luck after Shami could not hold on to a difficult catch in the second over. However, just when it seemed that he will take his team to victory, he was done in by a slower one from Hardus Viljoen as R Ashwin took an excellent catch. @BCCI

DC had a wobble at the end as KXIP managed to claw their way back in. However, skipper Shreyas Iyer, who scored an unbeaten 58, kept his calm and guided DC to a five-wicket win. @PTI

Viljoen struck once again to dismiss Rishabh Pant for six. The young wicketkeeper-batsman, who was recently not picked in India’s 15-man squad for the World Cup 2019, had yet another disappointing outing with the bat in IPL 2019. @BCCI

Just when it looked that KXIP will struggle to go past 150 after Lamichhane’s twin strikes, Mandeep Singh’s 30 and debutant Harpreet Brar’s 12-ball 20-run cameo helped KXIP put 163 runs on the board. @BCCI

While Gayle went big, Mayank Agarwal and David Miller failed to replicate Gayle’s execution and fell cheaply as DC managed to keep KXIP in check despite Gayle’s power-hitting. Mayank fell for two off Kagiso Rabada while Axar Patel dismissed Miller, both got out trying to play big shots. @BCCI