Kolkata : Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Delhi Capitals by 14 runs, at Delhi for first time since IPL 2017. Sunil Narine’s 3-fer played pivotal role in this.
Delhi Capitals’ skipper Axar Patel won the toss and elected to bowl first against KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane. However, the decision backfired early as KKR openers Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz launched a blazing start, smashing 33 runs in the first two overs, with Dushmantha Chameera conceding 25 runs in his opening over. Gurbaz continued the assault by hitting Mitchell Starc for two fours and a six in the third over, but the left-arm pacer bounced back to remove him, caught behind. Rahane then kept the tempo going in the company of Narine as KKR raced to 79/1 by the end of the powerplay.
After the powerplay, Vipraj Nigam brought DC some respite by trapping Narine LBW for 27 off 16 balls. Axar Patel followed it up with a double blow, first getting Rahane out in the very next over and then dismissing Venkatesh Iyer in his subsequent over. KKR slipped to 117/4 in 10 overs after losing three wickets in quick succession. Young Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh stitched a stabilizing 61-run partnership to rebuild the innings. Just when it looked like KKR would explode in the slog overs, Chameera dismissed Angkrish for 44 (32), while Vipraj Nigam accounted for Rinku, who made 36 (25).
The final over of the innings saw plenty of drama. Andre Russell smashed Mitchell Starc for a monstrous 106-metre six on the first ball, but Starc came back strong. He removed Rovman Powell on the third delivery, thanks to a sensational catch on the boundary by Chameera – one of the best in the tournament. With that, DC managed a team hat-trick in the over as KKR wrapped up their innings at 204/9 (20).
In reply, DC had a rocky start as Abishek Porel was dismissed on the second ball by Anukul Roy, playing his first game of the season. Karun Nair followed soon after, falling to Vaibhav Arora. The Capitals ended the powerplay at 58/2. Just after the powerplay, a mix-up between Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul led to Rahul being run out by a brilliant direct hit from Sunil Narine. At 60/3, Axar Patel joined Faf at the crease. Despite battling an injury sustained during fielding, Axar played a gutsy knock. Together, the captain and vice-captain stitched a crucial 76-run stand, with Faf notching up his half-century.
However, Narine turned the tide in the 14th over. After being hit for a six, he dismissed both Axar and Tristan Stubbs in the same over. He then came back to dismiss Faf du Plessis in the following over, triggering a middle-order collapse. DC tumbled from 136/3 to 146/6.Needing 46 off the last 18 balls, DC looked towards Vipraj Nigam and Ashutosh Sharma. But Varun Chakaravarthy delivered a hammer blow in the 18th over with two wickets in two balls. Vipraj did fight with a valiant 38 off 19 deliveries, but the Capitals eventually fell short, finishing on 190/9.
Sunil Narine was the undisputed star for KKR, contributing with bat (27 runs), ball (3 wickets), in the field (one catch), and a vital run-out. The win kept Kolkata Knight Riders firmly in the hunt for the playoffs as the league stage reaches its business end.
Brief Scorecard :
1st Innings :
KKR : 204-9 (20)
Angkrish Raghuvanshi : 44 (32)
DC :
Mitchell Starc : 4-43-3
2nd Innings :
DC : 190-9 (20)
Faf du Plessis : 62 (45)
KKR :
Sunil Narine : 4-29-3
Result : KKR won by 14 runs.
