Dropped for the previous game, playing in place of KL Rahul and also made captain of the side today, Mayank Agarwal stepped up on all fronts as the Punjab Kings opener remained unbeaten on 99 to lead the team to 166/6 vs Delhi Capitals in Sunday’s evening fixture.
Mayank opened with Prabhsimran Singh in the game but the two could add only 17 off the first 21 deliveries before the wicket-keeper lost his wicket to Kagiso Rabada on a 16-ball 12.
Chris Gayle was the next man in and while he smashed a four and a six during his stint, the West Indian could not add much to the team’s tally as he was castled by Rabada on a 9-ball 13. Punjab were reduced to 35/2 after 5.2 overs.
Next in was IPL debutant Dawid Malan, the world’s number one batter in T20I cricket, and he helped stabalise the Punjab innings after the early wickets, adding 52 off 47 with Mayank. He was batting on a 26-ball 26 when he became Axar Patel’s first wicket of the match, also ending Punjab’s best partnership of the innings.
Deepak Hooda’s stint in the middle lasted all of 1 ball before a big mix-up between him and Mayank saw both running towards the same end. In the end, it was Hooda who was sent back to the dressing room.
Mayank was at 37 off 32 with 6 overs of the match left and while no partner of his that followed scored more than 4 runs, the opener switched gears with ease and hit fours and sixes at regular intervals to ensure the run rate stayed up.
He hit two fours and a six off the last three balls of the innings and and put up a 41-run stand for the fifth wicket with Shahrukh Khan (4) to help Punjab post 166/6. He remained unbeaten on 99.
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