Delhi Capitals

In a video message posted on the franchise's website, the wicketkeeper-batsman said, "In the last few months, the number of Covid-19 cases in India has gone up. If you have recovered from Covid, please go and donate your plasma." Pant also requested people not to spread misinformation about the disease.

The Delhi Capitals (DC) bowler, who is playing only the second match of this season after the previous season - IPL 2020 -- was curtailed due to a finger injury, said he always likes to attack the batsmen.

MI bowlers took the game to the last over while removing DC's top-order batsmen. With 15 needed off the last two overs, and with Bumrah to bowl the second last over, it wasn't easy for DC.

"It was a conscious effort from my side (to increase strike rate) and I started taking more risks. I'm not afraid of changes. I'm always open towards changes and I make sure I give it a good try in the nets and then in the games. I'm not scared of getting out as well," said Dhawan in the post-match presentation ceremony in which he was declared player of the match.

PBKS scored 195/4 but DC ended up scoring 198/4 in just 18.2 overs. Brief scores: Punjab Kings 195/4 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal 69, KL Rahul 61; Lukman Meriwala 1/32) lose to Delhi Capitals 198/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 92, Prithvi Shaw 32; Jhye Richardson 2/41) by six wickets

Shaw smashed 72 runs off 38 balls to help DC defeat the Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets. The 21-year-old had suffered a lean patch in the last season which led to him getting dropped from the team and even losing his place in the Indian Test setup.

"It was very special walking out for the toss with MS [Dhoni]. He has been my go-to man. I have learnt a lot from him," said Pant during the presentation ceremony after the match.Pant, who replaced the injured Shreyas Iyer as captain ahead of this season, said that he was under pressure at one point in time.

"A lot depended on how much dew you would get. That's the reason we wanted to get as much runs as possible. You have to look ahead, especially when you have dew, you have to get extra runs. The opposition have half an hour in a 7:30 start when the pitch is really sticky and the ball stops a bit. [A] 7.30 pm start means opposition will have less amount of dew and we have to score those 15-20 runs extra. After that you need to get early wickets also. Well, if we consistently keep getting dew, 200 is something all teams will have in mind," said Dhoni while speaking to the broadcasters after the match.

Pant has said in the past that he wants to emulate Dhoni but seems to be carving his own niche. While his power-hitting has already been well-known, his batting went a notch higher since the last Indian Premier League (IPL) as he helped India win the Test series in Australia and against England at home.

The franchise, who finished runners up in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last season, said that the pair played a practice match with the rest of the DC squad. The team has been training at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.