Delhi Capitals (DC) ended Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) winning run and registered their 2nd win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. DC’s openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner provided a solid start to the team and played a key role in the Rishabh Pant-led side putting up the season’s highest score of 215. KKR lost wickets at regular intervals and largely remained out of contention during the chase.
KKR’s chase kicked off in a dramatic fashion as Ajinkya Rahane got the umpire’s decision reversed twice on the first 2 balls. The senior batsman had edged the third delivery to Rishabh Pant but none of the fielders appealed and he stayed on the crease. He couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity and was dismissed for 8 off 14.
Prior to his dismissal, KKR had lost the key scalp of Venkatesh Iyer. The left-handed batsman handed a catch to Axar Patel for an 8-ball 18.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana put KKR’s chase back on track by adding 69 runs for the 3rd wicket. While Rana departed for a 20-ball 30, Iyer hit 54 off 33 before being stumped by Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm spinner derailed KKR’s chase with scalps of Pat Cummins and Sunil Narine in the 16th over. He completed his spell with Umesh Yadav’s scalp, finishing with 4 wickets.
Following quick wickets, the onus was on Andre Russell to do the improbable task of scoring 73 runs off the final 24 deliveries. With little support from the other end, the big-hitting batsman failed to do the job and was dismissed for a 24-ball 21. KKR were bowled out for 171 in 19.4 overs.
Earlier in the game, DC were off to a solid start with openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner adding 93 runs for the first wicket in 8.4 overs. Shaw took the lead role in the partnership and kept the scoreboard ticking. The youngster hit his 2nd consecutive half-century of the season and was dismissed for a 29-ball 51 by Varun Chakravarthy.
Warner took over the charge following Shaw’s dismissal and hit 61. The left-hander added 55 runs for the 2nd wicket with Rishabh Pant, who scored an entertaining 27 off 14. Following his dismissal, Sunil Narine got in action and dismissed Lalit Yadav and Rovman Powell.
With Warner also departing in the 17th over, KKR would have fancied their chances of restricting DC under 200. Once again, DC’s all-rounders stepped up and Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur added 49 runs off just 20 balls.
Shardul took the lead role and hit 29* off just 11 balls, striking at 263.64. His knock included 3 sixes and a four. Axar remained unbeaten on 22 off 14 as DC put on a big total of 215/5. Narine scalped 2 wickets for KKR.
