Match Report: Delhi vs Punjab, Indian T20 League 2021

Mayank Agarwal’s brilliant 99 overshadowed by Dhawan’s resilience to lead Delhi a clinical 7-wicket victory over Punjab in Indian T20 League 2021. 

Toss: Delhi opted to field first 

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad 

Detailed Match Report 

First Innings (Punjab 166/6) 

Mayank Agarwal captained the Punjab side for the first time as KL Rahul got injured. David Malan made his debut in Indian T20 League. Prabhsimran got out early and Punjab lost Chris Gayle as well. Malan and Mayank Agarwal added vital runs for the 3^rd wicket before Axar struck in 14^th over with the wicket of Malan. In the same over, Hooda got runout to leave Punjab struggling on 88/4. Mayank Agarwal completed a well-deserved half-century and took the innings single-handily when Delhi was picking regular wickets. Mayank scored an unbeaten 99 off 58 balls to help Punjab to get 166. It was the second-highest individual score by a player in Indian T20 League on his captaincy debut. 

Second Innings (Delhi 167/3) 

Delhi made a fluent start and both openers scored 63 runs in the powerplay. Harpreet Brar provided the breakthrough with the wicket of Prithvi Shaw on 39. Early fire in powerplay helped Delhi to maintain its run rate. Smith and Dhawan carried the chase in favour of Delhi. Meredith added the twist with the wicket of Smith, thanks to a fine catch from Malan. Dhawan completed his 3^rd half-century of the season. Pant also got out in the middle and Punjab bowled two economical overs but it wasn’t enough. Hetmyer smashed two sixes and one four in the 18^th over to finish the game for Delhi. With two more points, Delhi moved to the top spot in the table. 

Star Performer of the Match 

Mayank Agarwal is our star performer of the match. He scored unbeaten 99 runs under pressure on his captaincy debut. He was the lone warrior of Punjab’s innings. This knock was played in a tough situation and Mayank Agarwal defined his value with a classy knock. 

5 impactful players of the match 

Mayank Agarwal 99 (58) 

Kagiso Rabada 36/3 

Shikhar Dhawan 69 (47) 

Prithvi Shaw 39 (22) 

Brar 19/1