The defeat from DC has ended PBKS’ hopes in this edition of the tournament and the former India stand-in skipper attributed the defeat to some poor batting taken by him, including the decision to use left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar in the 20th over.
Dharamshala: Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan opened up after Delhi Capitals beat PBKS by 15 runs in the 64th match of the Indian Premier League which was played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium on Wednesday. DC’s openers David Warner and Prithvi Shaw gave a good start to the franchise. The skipper fell four short but Shaw scored a fine fifty. Then, Rossouw and Philip Salt (26) joined hands to give the perfect finish, scoring 51 runs off the last three overs as DC posted 213/2 in 20 overs.
The defeat from DC has ended PBKS’ hopes in this edition of the tournament and the former India stand-in skipper attributed the defeat to some poor batting taken by him, including the decision to use left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar in the 20th over.
“It was frustrating. We didn’t bowl really well in the first six wickets, we should have taken some wickets the way it was swinging. It’s quite a close game, but can’t help it. There was hope after that no ball, Livi played a great knock, unfortunately we couldn’t end up on the other side. I fell my decision to bowl spin off the last over backfired” said Dhawan in post match conference.
“The momentum also went there. Before that, my fast bowlers got hit for 18-20 runs. Those two overs cost us the game. Our bowlers didn’t pitch the ball up in the powerplay. That was the plan and unfortunately they couldn’t execute. In this sort of a wicket, whether we take wickets or not, we should bowl at the right areas which we are not doing for quite a long time. That’s hurting us. Every powerplay, we have been giving 50-60 runs, we should be taking wickets as well. We knew that it’d swing for 1-2 overs. We lost the first wicket in the 2nd over, I got out and the 1st over was also a maiden – we lost six balls over there” Dhawan added.
Delhi is currently ninth on the points table and the franchise will now face MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi on Saturday at 3.30 PM IST.
On the other hand, Punjab is currently on the eighth rank of the points table and the team will now lock horns against Rajasthan Royals for the 66th match of ongoing IPL which is set to be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala.
