Blistering knocks from star opener Prithvi Shaw (41 runs off 56 balls), captain Shreyas Iyer (88 runs off 38 balls) and a fiery cameo from wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant (38 runs off 17 balls) propelled Delhi Capitals to against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. After great start from Shikhar Dhawan and Shaw, Iyer and Pant showed class and smashed the KKR bowlers all over the field to provide a great finish to their team. KKR's leading bowler Pat Cummins went for 49 runs without getting any wickets in his four overs.
KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and decided to bowl first. Regular Delhi Capitals opening batters Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, who have had slow start in the tournament so far, walked out to star the proceedings for Delhi Capitals.
KKR's most expensive but Pat Cummins started the bowling attack and was straight away smacked for 8 runs in the very first over. Both DC openers played maturely, risk-free cricketing shots against the high-quality speedster. Shaw and Dhawan showed urgency and scored quick runs to give their team a good start.
Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan joined young Shaw in the hitting fest as he too smashed Shivam Mavi in the second over. KKR now looked desperate to break the building partnership between the two in-form openers. Trouble kept on increasing for KKR as their senior spinner Sunil Narine leaked 15 runs in his first over.
However, Varun Chakravarthy pulled things in KKR's favour by getting the big breakthrough as he removed seasoned opener Dhawan for 26 runs of 16 balls.
The Delhi opener looked to go big but could only sky the ball to give Morgan an easy catch. Still, DC scored 57 runs in the powerplay (6 overs) -- their best in IPL 2020.
Shaw totally was enjoying his time on the field. The stylish opener brought his 6th IPL fifty off just 35 balls with a maximum. With Shreyas Iyer and in-form Shaw batting remarkably well, Delhi Capitals were set on a course for a big first innings total.
Just when KKR needed the most, Nagarkoti delivered to end Shaw's stay at the crease after a sparkling 41-ball 56. Shubhman Gill took an easy catch to send the DC opener back to the pavilion. Iyer and Shaw had already caused major damage with more big-hitters yet to come out to bat.
Rishabh Pant replaced Shaw as the new man in and he and Iyer ensured that the boundaries kept flowing in at Sharjah. Pant also found his rhythm quickly and started to play some stunning strokes straightaway. After 15 overs Delhi were already 151 after loss of just two wickets.
With five overs remaining, Iyer scored a quick fifty off just 26 balls. KKR's leading bowler Pat Cummins went for 49 runs without getting any wickets in his four overs. The fiery cameo by Pant (17-ball 38) came to an end holed out to long-on off Andre Russell's delivery.
Marcus Stoinis came out ahead of Shimron Hetmyer for some death overs hitting. The 19th over was bowled by a spinner that went for 20 runs. Russell bowled the last over in which he picked first ball wicket by dismissing all-rounder Stoinis for 1 run. After 20 overs, DC capitals posted a mammoth 228-run total against KKR.