DUBAI: Shikhar Dhawan’s historic hundred went in vain as KXI outplayed table leaders DC by five wickets for their third straight win to keep their play-off hopes alive in the IPL on Tuesday.
Dhawan became the first batsman to hit back-to-back IPL hundreds with his unbeaten 106 off 61 balls being the sole bright spot in Delhi’s 164 for five.
For a change, it ended up being a straightforward chase for KXIP despite a rare failure from their opening pair of K L Rahul (15) and Mayank Agarwal (5), who had done the bulk of the scoring for the team in the earlier games. Nicholas Pooran (53 off 28) came up with another blinder of a knock and Glenn Maxwell (32 off 24) finally found some form to set up the win.
Jimmy Neesham (10 not out off 8) hit the winning six as KXIP got home in the 19 over. With KXIP’s in-form top three gone cheaply, it was a stiff test for their shaky middle-order which came good on the night.
Pooran eased the pressure with another display of clean hitting. His blitzkrieg propelled KXIP to 101 for three in first 10 overs with only 64 to get from the last 60 balls. The West Indian was not able to see the team through but Maxwell finally got some runs under his belt to take the team close to victory.
Dhawan crossed the 5000-run mark in the IPL by sweeping leggie Ravi Bishnoi for a six over deep square-leg, becoming the fifth batsmen to do so in the tournament’s history.
He got to his century, another land-mark however, he did not get the required support from the other end as Delhi ended with a below-par total. (PTI)
