Half centuries by Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer's coupled with late cameos from Sherfane Rutherford and Axar Patel powered Delhi Capitals to 187/5 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL match here Sunday.
Keeping in mind the extremely dry nature of the wicket, Delhi Capitals skipper Iyer opted to bat first.
The openers began the Delhi innings on a steady note. Shikhar Dhawan sliced Umesh Yadav over cover point to hit the first boundary for his team. Shaw also hit four boundaries and looked in dangerous form but couldn't capitalise on his good start and perished for 18 in the fourth over with Yadav providing the first breakthrough for the visitors.
Skipper Iyer edged the first ball he faced to the boundary. His innings of 52 was laced with two fours and three sixes. On the other end, Dhawan (50 off 37-balls) continued hitting boundaries at regular intervals to the packed crowd's delight. The home team reached to 88/1 at the halfway mark. The duo shared a 68-run stand and looked to set a huge target.
However, there was a shift in momentum as Yuzvendra Chahal, who was the pick of the bowlers, dismissed Dhawan as he tried to reach out and sweep the ball in the 13th over. The spinner than dismissed danger man Rishabh Pant for 7 in his next over.
Delhi then lost wickets of Iyer and Colin Ingram (11) in quick succession. Delhi were struggling at 141 for 5 when Rutherford ( 28 off 13 balls) and Patel (16 off 9) walked in to share a 46-run partnership with 20 runs coming off the last over.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
