Mayank Agarwal dismissal, missed chances that cost KXIP in IPL 2020 clash vs Delhi Capitals

Kings XI Punjab had dominated the first half of the match against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2020 encounter in Dubai. At 100/6 in 17 overs, it looked like Kings XI Punjab would restrict Delhi Capitals to a below par score. In came Marcus Stoinis and he proceeded to change the entire match. He smashed a six and a four off Chris Jordan as 13 runs came in the 18^th over. Stoinis then smashed Sheldon Cottrell for three fours but the 20^th over changed the entire match. Stoinis hit two sixes and three fours and was run-out of a no-ball as 30 runs came in the final over. Delhi Capitals had hit 57 runs in three overs.

When Kings XI Punjab started the chase, they were reeling at 55/5 in 10 overs. Mayank Agarwal had stitched a stand of 46 with Krishnappa Gowtham but when he fell, Agarwal was on 38 off 39 balls and the asking rate was over 10. Agarwal decided it was time to unleash and the right-hander started with two fours off Anrich Nortje.

Agarwal stepped up a gear and smashed two sixes off Mohit Sharma and two fours off Kagiso Rabada. The final over was going to be bowled by Stoinis, who had helped Delhi Capitals get to where they were by his onslaught with the bat in the final over. He had rescued Delhi Capitals with the bat, now he had to do it with the ball.

Dropped chance but no luck

Mayank Agarwal hit a six and then was gifted a boundary when Shreyas Iyer dropped the catch at deep midwicket. The scores were tied. One run was needed off two balls. Then, bad luck. Agarwal flayed at a wide delivery and found the only fielder who was there and Shimron Hetmyer took the catch. One run needed off one ball. Surely, Kings XI Punjab would not botch it up. But they did. Chris Jordan, already under immense pressure for his poor show with the ball, fell the very next delivery and the match headed into the Super Over.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the year 2020 had seen two instances when a team needed one run off the final two balls and yet they botched it up. New Zealand did it twice against India in Hamilton and Wellington when they required one run off two balls and yet they lost both games by the Super Over. Kings XI Punjab would meet a familiar fate.

It did not help that they were undone by a poor umpiring decision that saw Kings XI Punjab’s one run taken away. The short-run signal in the third ball of the 19^th over was crucial in the outcome of the match as Kings XI Punjab would have won rather than going into the Super Over. In a game of fine margins, this made the difference. The one short-run, the one fielder, the one dropped catch and in the end, heartbreak for Kings XI Punjab.