Dharamshala: Punjab Kings (PBKS) are taking on Delhi Capitals (DC) in match number 64 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium on Wednesday (May 17). While this is a must-win game for PBKS who are still in the race to the Playoffs, DC had earlier become the first team to get knocked out of the business end of the competition. However, Delhi who were asked to bat first by Shikhar Dhawan posted their first score of over 200 as they ended up scoring 213/2 with the help of half-centuries from Rilee Rossouw and Prithvi Shaw.
Earlier, DC skipper David Warner had also played a handy knock worth 46 off 31. But his knock came to an end courtesy of a piece of brilliance on the field by Dhawan. The incident happened in the second ball of the 11th over when Sam Curran bowled a slower one which Warner failed to time perfectly. The Australian batter went for the big hit down the ground but managed a top edge which seemed to be falling safely for a while before Dhawan made good ground and dived to complete a fine catch. He later celebrated with his trademark thigh-five.
Check out the video of Dhawan's catch here:
In response, PBKS had a nightmarish start to their innings with Khaleel Ahmed bowling a maiden over before Ishant Sharma got rid off Dhawan for a golden duck. With the pressure of mounting run rate, this is going to be strenuous task from Punjab to chase down the total from this situation. Currently, DC are at the 10th place from the points table with 8 points from 12 matches. PBKS are at the eighth place with 12 points from 12 matches. This is the 13th league game for both these sides.