In perhaps the best game of the season, if you’re a fan of massive scores, Punjab Kings left Delhi Capitals slack-jawed by pulling off the highest successful chase in Men’s T20 history. KL Rahul (152* off 67) and Nitish Rana’s (91 off 44) brutal takedown of PBKS’ bowling with a 220-run stand was rendered meaningless as Prabhsimran Singh (76 off 26) and Shreyas Iyer (61* off 30) headlined a statement victory for the last season’s finalists, to remain unbeaten this year after seven matches. It looked like Rahul and Rana had vindicated Axar Patel’s decision to bat first but PBKS took on the challenge of chasing down their 264/2 – the highest total of this season, and did it with 7 balls to spare.
KL Rahul tees off, Nitish Rana follows suit
It looked like the heat got to the Punjab Kings players very early, particularly the boundary riders. Shashank Singh dropped yet another sitter at square leg, perhaps the costliest miss in a T20 game. Rahul was on 12 when that happened, and went on to add 140 more runs to his tally. A miffed Arshdeep Singh broke through in the same over with Pathum Nissanka’s wicket, but that only brought Nitish Rana to the crease and opened the floor for a sensational second-wicket alliance.
Rahul took early charge like he’d not done in years – he scored 35 off his first 15 balls for the fourth time in the IPL, the three previous such events coming back in 2018 and 2019, when he was with Punjab. Rana started briskly too, even as he faced quite a few change up deliveries from Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett. He largely watched on as Rahul reached a 21-ball fifty and DC got to 102/1 at the halfway stage. Rana then drew some inspiration from his batting partner and stepped up to the podium in the 12th over, plundering Xavier Bartlett all around the ground. He went 6,4,4,4,4,6 – hitting over square leg, fine leg and cover to reach his half-century.
At 153/1 in 13 overs, Shreyas Iyer had to turn to his best. On came Arshdeep, but Rahul’s batting ideas were still outlandish. He shuffled across for a scoop over the bowler’s head for a four, followed that with a straight six and a straight four, before finishing the over with a smart cut behind point to get into the 90s. Marco Jansen returned too and watched the ball fly all around again – the third boundary of the over coming off Rahul to take him to his sixth IPL century, and fastest – off just 47 deliveries.
After smashing 120 runs in the middle overs, Rahul and Rana were hungry for so much more. Rahul launched three big sixes off Vijaykumar Vyshak in a 24-run over to get started at the death, powering his team past the 200-mark in 16 overs. A rare quiet over came from Yuzvendra Chahal but the hopes of breaking through with Rana’s wicket were quashed by the TV umpire. Marcus Stoinis took an exceptional catch at square leg, but multiple replays pushed the TV umpire to the conclusion that the Aussie’s foot touched the boundary skirting.
The left-hander then got a six and a four in the 19th over to move into the 90s, before falling to a sharp catch from Shreyas Iyer at mid-off. This brought an end to a 220-run partnership – the second-best for any wicket in IPL history. Arshdeep closed out the innings with a modest nine-run over, but DC ended with 264/2 – the highest total of the season and Rahul went unbeaten on 152 off 67 – the best score by an Indian in IPL history.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 264/2 in 20 overs [KL Rahul 152* (68), Nitish Rana 91 (44)] lost to Punjab Kings 265/4 in 18.5 overs [Prabhsimran Singh 76 (26), Shreyas Iyer 61* (30)] by 6 wickets
