IPL 2021: Match 11 - DC vs PBKS - Who Said What

Delhi Capitals (DC) have comfortably defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six wickets with 10 balls to spare in Mumbai. After a couple of indifferent matches, the Wankhede surface was back to being a batting beauty. After being put in to bat first, Punjab Kings got off to a great start thanks to Mayank Agarwal. He smacked 69 runs off just 36 balls to add 122 runs in only 12.4 overs.

But once he got out, runs didn’t come as expected and the Capitals came back well. Rahul also played a valuable knock of 61 runs off 50 balls. No other batsman from Punjab couldn’t stay in the middle and score at a quick pace as they could reach 195 runs in their 20 overs. At one stage, it looked like they would cross the 200-run mark easily but credit has to be given to DC’s bowlers who pulled things back well.

The chase wasn’t going to be easy but Shikhar Dhawan played a sublime knock to keep the team ahead in the chase. Prithvi Shaw also entertained the spectators with a quickfire 32 off 17 balls. Even after his wicket fell, Dhawan kept playing his shots and was unfortunate not to get to his ton. He got out for 92 off just 49 balls and by the time he got out, his team was in a winning position.

Things got a bit interesting at the fag end but Marcus Stoinis plundered runs off Mohammed Shami in the 17th over to end the contest as DC got home with six wickets in hand.

Man of the Match, Shikhar Dhawan said:

 It was a conscious effort from my side. I knew I have to improve on that (strike rate). Started taking more risks. Not afraid of changes, always open towards it. Not scared of getting out as well. Have worked on a few shots. My slog shot has improved a lot. It was there earlier as well, but now I play it more freely. I’m more relaxed, having played for so many years. Don’t take things for granted. Great opening with Prithvi. Happy with the way he played today and scored those 30-40 runs.

DC skipper Rishabh Pant said:

Coming from a loss, winning the next match was important. Have already started enjoying captaincy. But we were under pressure at the start, the wicket was not doing much. Bowlers did a good job keeping them to 190. What he’s (Dhawan) giving to the team is commendable. Want to keep it light so people can enjoy their cricket.

PBKS skipper KL Rahul said:

Victory (on his birthday) would have been sweet, so it’s slightly disappointing. But we have a lot of games, so hopefully we come back stronger and win few games. Right now it looks 10-15 runs short, but I think 190-odd looked good. Me and Mayank thought 180-190 would have been great on this wicket. Shikhar batted well, so congratulations to them.

When we come to Wankhede, bowling second is always a challenge. We prepare for such conditions. It does get difficult against these quality batters. I’m not saying that because I’m on the losing side. Bowlers try to bowl with the wet ball, but it’s always difficult to do that. I asked the umpires to change the ball a couple of times (as it was wet), but the rule book doesn’t allow that.