IPL 2022 | KKR vs DC - Superstar of the Match

KKR faced off against DC in the 19th match of IPL 2022. The game was a high-scoring affair as the two teams amassed a total of 386 runs in the game. In such a match where the batters have dominated, the superstar of the match is expected to be a batter. But the 19th match of IPL 2022 is different in this respect as the superstar for this encounter is Kuldeep Yadav.

Match Situation: Kuldeep Yadav was called upon by his skipper Rishabh Pant in the most crucial juncture of the match. In the first two overs of his quota of 4 overs, Kuldeep was taken to the cleaners by Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana as he gave away 20 runs. Rishabh stopped him at this stage and gave him a return spell in the 13th over.

Shreyas Iyer was going strong at this stage, and it looked like KKR would achieve the colossal target quickly. But Kuldeep Yadav had some other ideas as he dismissed Iyer on the 5th delivery of the 13th over just after being hit for a six.

He was brought back again in the 16th over, and it was a match-turning over. KKR required 79 runs from 30 deliveries at the beginning of the over. The batters at the crease for Kolkata at the stage were Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. KKR depended on the duo to pull off something unreal as they did in the last two matches for the team. Kuldeep picked up Cummins on the 3rd delivery of the over and followed it with quick wickets of Narine and Umesh Yadav. 

This reduced KKR to 143 for eight after 16 overs. The remainder of the equation proved too much for Russell as he found it hard to time the ball. DC ultimately won the match by a margin of 44 runs on the back of a wonderful spell By Kuldeep Yadav.

Observation: Kuldeep Yadav gave a very gutsy performance on a batting-friendly wicket. He was never afraid to provide the ball with air, even when the batters looked to attack him. His daring bowling under pressure earns him the ‘Player of the Match’ for this encounter.

Underperformer of the match: Andre Russell

Match Situation: Andre Russell walked out to bat when KKR scored 107 for two after 11.4 overs. The equation for KKR at this stage was 109 runs off 50 deliveries at 13.08 runs per over. At this stage, KKR required Russell to take off from the very beginning, but Russell did not find the middle of the bat throughout his innings. He scored 24 runs off 21 deliveries with a strike rate of 114.29, which is way less than his IPL career strike rate of 179. This performance from Russell, which was not according to the situation's demand, earns him the ‘Underperformer of the Match.”