Delhi Capitals (DC) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 15 runs in the 64th match of IPL 2023 on Wednesday, May 17, in Dharamshala. DC have managed to spoil PBKS' playoffs chances and did a favor to teams like Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals.
PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and opted to bowl first on a belter of a track. DC top-order batters Rilee Rossouw (82*), Prithvi Shaw (54), David Warner (46), and Philip Salt (26*) fired in unison to lift DC to a mammoth total of 213/2 in 20 overs.
Khaleel Ahmed bowled a maiden in the first over of the second innings against Prabhsimran Singh to give DC a good start in the second innings. Ishant Sharma then dismissed Shikhar Dhawan for a golden duck in the second over, reaping the reward after Khaleel built up the pressure in the steep chase.
Atharva Taide (55) and Liam Livingstone (94) lived a charmed life and put on a 78-run partnership to keep PBKS in the hunt after getting multiple reprieves from DC fielders. Taide returned to the pavilion at the end of the 15th over and retired out to make way for big-hitting finishers, with Punjab needing 86 runs off the last 30 balls.
It did not work for PBKS as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could eventually end at 198/8 in 20 overs. Punjab captain Shikhar Dhawan reflected on the loss at the post-match presentation, saying:
"We did not bowl really well in the first six overs, the way the pitch was offering swing. There was always hope after that no ball. Livingstone played a great knock but unfortunately, we could not end up on the winning side. Even my decision of bowling a spinner in the last over - the momentum went to their side. Those two (last and penultimate overs) cost us the game.
He added:
"We could not pitch the ball up. We did not bowl in the right areas and that has been hurting us. It is not about this game but we should be taking some wickets. We knew that it would swing for a couple of overs. I was dismissed in the second over and we played the first maiden. We lost six balls there as well. It does not usually happen but it happened tonight."
PBKS vs DC IPL 2023 memes
Fans on social media enjoyed the crucial encounter between the Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals on Wednesday night. They expressed their reactions to the same through some fascinating memes on social media.
Here is a collection of some of the best memes related to the game:
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