Kings XI Punjab captain K.L. Rahul admitted he hadn’t slept much after Sunday’s double Super Over win and he feared Tuesday’s clash in Dubai with Delhi Capitals might be headed in the same direction.
Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bat, with the Capitals posting 5-164 led by Dhawan’s unbeaten 106no from 61 balls, coming only days after he made 101no.
Dhawan did the damage but it may have been worse for Kings XI, with Mohammed Shami starring with 2-28 from his four overs to restrict the Capitals and that proved crucial.
In reply, Kings XI slipped to 3-56 inside the powerplay, losing Rahul (15), Mayank Agarwal (5) and Chris Gayle (29) but Nicholas Pooran (53 from 28) and Glenn Maxwell (32 from 24) steadied the ship to guide them home with an over to spare.
“I didn’t sleep a whole lot after that Sunday game,” Rahul said about the Super Over match.
“It took a long time to sink in. I kept thinking all night how we could have closed it off before the Super Over. But it keeps us humble; the game is bigger than any of us.”
Rahul was delighted to see Maxwell’s contribution with both bat and ball, also claiming the wicket of Rishabh Pant, having only managed 58 runs and one wicket prior to that.
“Glenn is a great team man,” Rahul said. “He has been batting well in the nets. It was important to back him.
“It was good to see him get time in the middle. Hopefully he carries this good work into the coming games.”
Meanwhile, Dhawan was named Player of the Match for his innings which included 12 fours and three sixes, which makes him the second top scorer in the 2020 Indian Premier League behind only Rahul.
“Today I had to take the responsibility on myself,” Dhawan said.
“I really enjoyed it today. It is good that I am scoring consistently so you carry it into the next games.”