Kolkata Knight Riders stole away crucial two points after etching a three-wicket win against Delhi Capitals in Sharjah on Tuesday, 28 September. Chasing 128 in 20 overs, KKR lost Venkatesh Iyer early in the innings for 14 off 15 after he was cleaned up by Lalit Yadav.
The Knight Riders kept losing wickets at regular intervals while Nitish Rana held the fort from one end. In a sluggish track where the batsmen found it really hard to score runs, the Kolkata side looked in a spot of bother when Rana was joined by Sunil Narine in the middle. KKR had just lost two of their prime middle order batsmen (Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik) and it looked like there was no respite with overs of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje to come.
Narine’s quick-fire 10-ball 21 which included a couple of maximums and a boundary provided the much-needed resistance to KKR. The two batsmen put 26 runs for the sixth wicket before Narine departed.
Rana remained unbeaten at 36 off 27 as Kolkata went over the line in the penultimate over. Avesh Khan was the pick of bowlers for DC after he returned with figures of 3/13 in 3 overs.
Earlier, the KKR bowlers dominated the Capitals’ batting line up and restricted them to 127/9 in the allotted 20 overs. The Delhi side had a decent start to the proceedings with openers Steve Smith and Shikhar Dhawan putting on 35 runs for the first wicket in 5 overs before Dhawan was sent back in the hut for 24 off 20 deliveries.
Later, Shreyas Iyer followed Dhawan in a short span of time after he was undone for 1 by Narine. Smith was then joined by captain Rishabh Pant and the two batsmen stitched a stand of 37 runs for the third wicket. Smith eventually departed for a 34-ball 39 by Lockie Ferguson.
While Pant scored runs from one end, the left-hander kept losing partners at the other and was finally sent back in the hut for 39 off 36 after he was run out. Iyer, Narine and Ferguson returned with a couple of wickets each for KKR.
DC captain Rishabh Pant admitted that they were 10 runs short at the end of the innings. "I think we were 10 runs short, not much. We knew that the wicket would slow down in the second innings. But at the end of the day each and every team is trying to win the match and we just want to give our 100% on the given day,” he said in the post-match presentation.
Experts’ Opinion
Commentator Harsha Bhogle lauded KKR for the performance against DC and added that the Knight Riders’ win at this stage of the tournament has turned the “heat on their mid-table challengers”.
“Huge result for KKR . They have turned the heat on their mid-table challengers. It makes the MI vs PK a virtual must-win game for the two teams,” he tweeted.
Journalist Ayaz Memon hailed Sunil Narine for his cameo that brought KKR back into the game. “Sunil Narine tearing into Rabada has brought KKR to the doorstep of win. If that happens, big pressure on MI and PBKS in the second match,” he wrote on Twitter.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra brought up an innovative way of appreciating KKR for the way they fared against DC.
Former India bowler Irfan Pathan lavished praise on Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill for showing some good intent. “Clear intent from Rana and Shubman sees KKR thru. Beating DC with current form is surely big boost for KKR,” he tweeted.
KKR will next play Punjab Kings on Friday in Dubai while Delhi Capitals will be up against Mumbai Indians on Saturday in Sharjah.