Virat Kohli, during the recent series against England, had said that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are India’s first-choice openers in T20Is, making it clear that Shikhar Dhawan could only be a back-up option to open the innings. Well, Kohli might have to rethink on that post this IPL.

That is because Dhawan is playing sparkling cricket at the moment. On Sunday, he almost single-handedly earned Delhi Capitals a fine six-wicket win over Punjab Kings at the Wankhede. The task was tough with Punjab posting 195/4 on the board, but Dhawan’s superlative innings of 92 off 49 balls gave the Capitals’ chase enough air to win with 10 balls to spare. He had scored an 85 in the Capitals’ first game.

While the Capitals climbed up to the second spot on the points table with their second win in three matches, Punjab’s campaign is once again looking a bit rudderless just like last year.

Chasing a tall target, the Capitals could do exactly what the Kolkata Knight Riders could not in Sunday’s other match. The Knights, despite an aggressive approach, did not have a single batsman who could spend a significant amount of time at the crease and also score runs at a quick click.

That’s almost mandatory in a stiff chase. Dhawan performed that role for the Ricky Ponting-coached side to perfection.

Initially it was Prithvi Shaw (32 off 17 balls) who enthralled with his stroke-play. Once he departed, the runs dried up for some time with the 6th, 7th and 8th overs producing a total of just 18 runs. But a well-set Dhawan soon took charge of the wheel, playing shots all around the ground.

By the time he departed in the 15th over, after hitting 13 fours and two sixes, Capitals needed 44 runs off 31 balls. Marcus Stoinis’ 27 not out off 13 balls accelerated them towards the target.

Repeat of 2020

Punjab, much like last year, are batting well but their bowling is letting them down.

Even the big names like Mohammed Shami (53/0 in 4 overs) are leaking runs. As a result, even a total of 200-odd is not looking enough for them. They had won the first match against Rajasthan Royals by just 4 runs even after scoring 221.

The efforts of Mayank Agarwal (69 off 36 balls) and captain KL Rahul (61 off 51 balls) will matter little unless Punjab’s bowlers can complement their batsmen.