IPL 2022 | DC vs KKR | Kolkata bow down to Kuldeep Yadav’s fury; Delhi earn two crucial points

Delhi Capitals’ (DC) train came back on track on Thursday (April 28) as they laid a mighty assault on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), beating them by four wickets at Wankhede Stadium in the 41st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Although the Capitals did not have much to do in the second innings as they only required 147 runs to win the crucial encounter, the batting messed up in the initial overs to set the tone for the nail-biting showdown. 

Out-of-touch Umesh Yadav landed early punches to the Capitals’ innings, bringing a premature end to the evening for Prithvi Shaw. While Yadav took a sharp catch on his own bowling to dismiss the swashbuckling opener. The next man to follow Shaw was Mitchell Marsh, who threw away his wicket.

With David Warner still at the crease, the DC camp remained calm as they knew the hard-hitting Aussie would take them through on his own. Warner did not bow down from the challenge and batted in his usual attacking style. He, along with Lalit Yadav, neutralised every strategy made by the KKR bowlers.

However, Umesh again brought his prowess to the fore; he bowled a bouncer as Warner went for the pull only to get caught. The fiery pacer again struck and got another wicket worth gold in the form of DC’s skipper Rishabh Pant. In between, Sunil Narine outclassed Lalit, whose 29-ball 22 only pushed DC backward in the run-chase.

While Axar Patel looked good, his suicidal attempt for the second-run led to a run-out. 

Delhi needed 34 off 30 balls at one stage, and the situation required wise heads. With Rovman Powell and Shardul Thakur, you do not associate sensibility. But the two aggressors strictly restricted their shots and relied on strike-rotation to help DC inch closer to the target.

Powell opened his muscular arms in the 17th over as 14 runs came off Venkatesh’s over. Then, it was only a matter of time for DC to get past the finishing line, with the victory shot coming in the form of a cracking six, right from the West Indian’s bat.

Earlier in the day, the Knight Riders struggled throughout their innings after being asked to bat first. Barring Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana, every other batter had a terrible day.

With openers departing early, Shreyas had to anchor all the way, but lost his wicket to in-form Kuldeep Yadav for 42 runs. Then, it was the Nitish Rana show as the elegant southpaw finally rose back from the dead and pushed KKR to a respectable total of 146 runs, courtesy of his 57-run knock.

For his figures of 14/4, Kuldeep Yadav was given the Player of the Match award.

Brief scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders - 146/9 (20)

Nitish Rana 57 (34), Shreyas Iyer 42 (37);

Kuldeep Yadav 14/4 (3), Mustafizur Rahman 18/3 (4)

Delhi Capitals - 150/6 (19)

David Warner 42 (26), Rovman Powell 33* (16);

Umesh Yadav 24/3 (4), Sunil Narine 19/1 (4)

Delhi Capitals won by four wickets.