IPL 2023, PBKS vs DC emotional rollercoaster: No-ball in last over, Prithvi Shaw’s return to form and Shikhar Dhawan’s blunder

DC survive no-ball
It didn’t matter in the end, but the no-ball midway through the final over injected some short-lived jeopardy in proceedings. With 33 needed of six balls, the first half of the over had brought only 10 runs. A requirement of 23 from three balls was improbable, if Ishant Sharma didn’t transgress. But a high full toss, which was smashed over wide long-off for a six, was called a no-ball, and despite a challenge from Delhi Capitals, the decision stood. The resultant free hit was another full toss, not that high but ripe enough to be hit out of the ground. But Liam Livingstone, who was hitting almost everything to the boundary and over it, had a mighty swing which met only fresh air, settling the contest and, to a large extent, Punjab Kings’ chances of making the playoffs.
Tushar Bhaduri
Last-over blunder
With Kagiso Rabada having an over left and Arshdeep Singh two, what prompted Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan to give the 20th over to left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar, especially with left-hander Rilee Rossouw in belligerent mood? Some captains may scoff at the notion of match-ups, and the theory that the ball turning into a batsman is unfavourable to a spinner. But there was hardly any turn on offer at the Dharamsala venue. In any case, Brar didn’t try to spin the ball and attempted yorkers, two of which turned into full tosses that were tonked the South African out of the ground. Two wides betrayed the pressure he was under and poor fielding Kagiso Rabada on the boundary didn’t help matters either, as 23 came off the final over. On such decisions, qualification to the playoffs can be impacted, especially with net run rate assuming great significance.

DO NOT MISS!
8⃣2⃣* Runs3⃣7⃣ Balls6⃣ Fours6⃣ Sixes@Rileerr made merry with the bat in Dharamsala! 👏 👏
Relive that whirlwind 🌪️ 🌪️ knock 🔽 #TATAIPL | #PBKSvDC | @DelhiCapitalshttps://t.co/AZmcag6PuX
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 17, 2023
Tushar Bhaduri
Something to smile about
Maybe their elimination just freed up the Delhi Capitals batsman, or was the fast pitch and high altitude that made stroke-making easier? David Warner started it, Prithvi Shaw found some form, and South African Rilee Rossouw also found the pitch to his liking. The bounce on offer also played into the batsmen’s hands, and with precious little lateral movement, for either pacers or spinners, they needed little invitation to go for their shots. The two sixes hit Warner, off none other than Kagiso Rabada stood out. One was a nonchalant flick off a full ball that flew deep into the crowd, and another was a pull that landed well beyond the boundary. Rossouw felt confident enough to start his innings with a boundary through the legside off the first ball. And the carnage continued. It brought rare smiles to the DC dugout in what has been a forgettable campaign.

WHAT DRAMA! WHAT. A. FINISH! 👏 👏@DelhiCapitals hold their nerve and overcome the @liaml4893 storm to seal a 1⃣5⃣-run victory 🙌 🙌
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/lZunU0ICEw #TATAIPL | #PBKSvDC pic.twitter.com/8uwoxAunC5
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 17, 2023
Tushar Bhaduri
Warner’s cold stare to Prithvi Shaw
David Warner isn’t too happy with Prithvi Shaw’s running. The first episode came in the first over when Warner squirted the second ball to point and ran half-way down but Shaw had his hand up in refusal. And Warner who should know Shaw now and realise that he wasn’t going to budge for that was surprisingly angry. And he threw a dirty stare. The episode repeated in the second over as well, this time after Shaw had awkwardly fended a bouncer on a bouncy Dharamsala pitch and didn’t want the second run. Again, came that stare.
Sriram Veera
Flaws and strengths
Watching Prithvi Shaw could be frustrating. Much of his old flaws remain. The front-foot does not get really forward, he tends to play from the crease and is still a flash-lit deer when dealing shot balls. All these weaknesses were exposed in Dharamshala, but he also showed why captains and coaches continue to invest in him. Nothing attested to his talents than the lofted four over extra cover off Rahul Chahar. He jumped out of the track, the strides nimble and decisive, opens up his body a bit and lofted the wrong’un without a speck of violence. It embodied all the virtues of Shaw—his dexterous use of feet, his good hands and the decisiveness of stroke-making. There was also a delicate cut the previous ball, when he did not so much as shift his weight onto the back-foot as dab the ball with his sumptuous hands. Delhi Capitals could probably think of making him bat down the order, so that he faces more spinners than seamers. They could hit two birds in one stone—he could destroy the spinners and seamers would not destroy him.

5⃣0⃣ up for @PrithviShaw 👌
This has been a fine knock from the @DelhiCapitals opener 👍
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/lZunU0I4OY#TATAIPL | #PBKSvDC pic.twitter.com/bRWOICIVYz
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 17, 2023
Sandip G
Bird of a rare feather
Left-arm orthodox spinners running across between the umpire and the stumps has become a rare sight, as most prefer running straight rather than almost diagonally. Rarer is the sight of a leg-spinner performing this. Shane Warne used to, but no more than a party trick. But again, he used to start from the over-the-stumps angle, get across the umpire and bowl from around the stumps. But here, Rahul Chahar took the opposite route to Rilee Rossouw, began his run-up from around the stumps, walked across the umpire, as though he was going to bowl left-arm spin, but before loading up, he pirouetted his body and bowled leg-spin. But if creating a new angle was his motive, he miserably failed, as the ball stuck in his hand and ended up as a short ball. But even Rossouw seemed surprised and could not get the most out of the long hop.
Sandip G