New Delhi: Shikhar Dhawan (56 off 41 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (58 off 49) guided Delhi Capitals to a five-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Delhi overhauled Punjab’s 163 with two balls to spare.
Earlier, Chris Gayle smashed five gargantuan sixes into the night sky before Delhi Capitals put the brakes and restricted Kings XI Punjab to 163 for seven.
Gayle top-scored with 69 off 37 balls, reaching the half century in 25 balls and hitting six boundaries besides the towering sixes.
Coming back into the team, young leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane returned figures of 3/40, playing an influential role in helping DC rally after Gayle's blitzkrieg. Considering the dew factor in mind, Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer invited the visitors to bat first.
And the hosts, seeking to end their run of woes at the Feroz Shah Kotla, enjoyed early success when Lamichhane tossed the ball up and had KL Rahul stumped with one that turned sharply in the second over.
Ignored for the World Cup primarily because he is considered inferior to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps, Rishabh Pant did a fine job whipping the bails off in a flash, as Rahul walked back after welcoming Lamichhane with a six down the ground and a four.
Apart from managing two runs from the nine deliveries he faced, Mayank Agarwal watched the action unfold from the other end, as Gayle flayed the Delhi spinners. The ‘Universe Boss’ started his onslaught by smashing Ishant Sharma’s knuckle ball over long on.
