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Delhi Capitals (DC) showed remarkable resilience to overcome a Covid crisis in their camp and hand Punjab Kings (PBKS) a nine-wicket thrashing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Wednesday. DC dished out a clinical bowling display to bowl out Punjab Kings for a below-par 115 and then they seemed in real hurry to close the game as Prithvi Shaw (41 off 20) and David Warner's (60 off 30 balls) 83-run partnership off 39 balls ensured Delhi cantered to victory in 10.3 overs, giving a big boost to their net run rate.
The stylish Shaw had a not so good start to the IPL 2022 season, but made a great comeback with two back-to-back half-centuries. After misfiring against Royal Challengers Bangalore, he was again at his destructive best as he smashed seven boundaries and a six in his 20-ball knock.
Impressed by Shaw's revival, former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar showered praise on him saying that his approach makes him 'priceless'.
"When it comes to IPL cricket, he is absolutely precious. If I was on the auction table, I'd go hard for him because he's a guy who doesn't worry about getting out," Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
"He's fearless, selfless. He'll hit three consecutive fours, get to 48 and then try to hit the next one for a six to get to 54. These are priceless players with the kind of damage they do at the top," he added.
The match, which was shifted to the Brabourne Stadium from Pune, was given a go ahead barely an hour before the start of play after Delhi keeper-batter Tim Seifert tested positive on Wednesday morning Shaw and Warner looked in devastating touch dispatching a deflated looking Punjab bowling attack to all corners of the grounds. However, Punjab bowlers could not be blamed on the night with batters letting the team down on a good pitch.
"But if he has to break into the big league, which he's done in other formats, then all other factors come into play. Because the selectors will sit and say 'We've got these four young top-order batters, what about him in the field?' Then the stories about his fitness and ethics will come into discussion," Manjrekar warned.
It was Delhi's third win in six games while Punjab, who had a game to forget, suffered their fourth loss in seven games. The Delhi spin trio of Lalit (2/11), Kuldeep (2/24) and Axar (2/10) did the bulk of the damage to bundle out Punjab to such paltry score.
