IPL 2020: 3 Mistakes committed by the losing side in KXIP vs DC

Delhi Capitals’ dream run in IPL 2020 has come to a halt with their stunning defeat against Kings XI Punjab. While batting first, DC’s opener, Shikhar Dhawan played an astonishing knock to become the first batsman in IPL to score two consecutive tons. But he didn’t get any support from the other end and KXIP finished their innings at a score of 164 in 20 overs.

While defending the below-par total, DC started well as they dismissed KXIP’s in form skipper KL Rahul quite early. However, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran scored quickfire knocks to put DC on the backfoot. Despite picking wickets at regular intervals, Delhi Capitals were not able to make a comeback due to a low asking rate and KXIP pulled off their third consecutive triumph. This loss brings up several questions for the table toppers as they would want to bring out their best before the playoffs.

Here are the 3 mistakes committed by Delhi Capitals in Match 38, KXIP vs DC:-

1. No support for Shikhar Dhawan from other DC batsmen

Shikhar Dhawan played a marvellous knock as he looked extremely comfortable in the middle. He was attacking both spinners and pacers and his strike was above 170. However, the southpaw didn’t get any support from the other DC batsmen, as all of them threw their wickets and didn’t even accelerate the run-scoring. Dhawan scored 106* off 61 balls and interestingly all other batsmen scored 64 runs in 59 deliveries.

2. Not using Ravichandran Ashwin against Chris Gayle upfront

Ravichandran Ashwin has an outstanding record against Chris Gayle. The Jamaican power hitter has always looked uncomfortable against the off-spinner and DC should have used him right away. However, Shreyas Iyer trusted his young pacer to bowl against the southpaw and it turned out to be a catastrophic move.

Gayle hammered Tushar Deshpande for 26 runs in a single over. Though Iyer asked Ashwin to bowl the next over and the veteran tweaker struck straight away. If the skipper would have tried his experienced spinner earlier, the damage could have been controlled.

3. Kagiso Rabada was given just one over after picking two quick wickets

DC dismissed Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal in quick succession and KXIP stood at 57/3 after the powerplay. The momentum was in their favour and it was a perfect time to put some more pressure. As Kagiso Rabada is their strike bowler, he was expected to get at least two overs to provide another breakthrough.

However, Iyer only gave him one over in which he gave away 5 runs. If Rabada would have bowled a longer spell, he might have taken a wicket earlier like he did when he came back and dismissed the set batsman, Nicholas Pooran.