Delhi Capitals (DC) thrashed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 44 runs in Match 19 of the Indian Premier League at Brabourne Stadium. The Delhi batters came out all guns blazing to put up 215/5 before Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav routed Kolkata for 171.
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and decided to bowl. Kolkata went with an unchanged squad, while Delhi brought in Khaleel Ahmed for Anrich Nortje, who did not look fully fit on his return in the last match.
Delhi Capitals 215/5 in 20 overs
Prithvi Shaw continued to prove his worth during the Powerplay. He hit a four off the first ball he faced, then another in the same over, and in all, five in the first three overs to race to 24 from 14 balls. David Warner, too, hit fours off the first two balls of the fourth over, bowled by Pat Cummins. Another six in the last ball of the same over took Delhi to 50/0 after four 4 overs. By the end of the Powerplay they were 68/0.
Shaw completed another fifty against Kolkata, this time off just 27 balls, before he missed one from Varun Chakravarthy and was dismissed for 51. Rishabh Pant promoted himself to No. 3 and hit two fours and two sixes in his 14-ball 27 as Delhi reached 148/2 after 13 overs.
Delhi might have reached 240, but for Sunil Narine, who demonstrated his class in favourable batting conditions. He got the wickets of Lalit Yadav and Rovman Powell in his next two overs as DC could add only 14 runs in three overs.
Umesh Yadav returned and dismissed Warner for 61, the 51st IPL fifty for the latter. Warner reached his fifty with a six that could have been a brilliant catch at the boundary line. Instead, Venkatesh Iyer injured himself in the process. Axar Patel (22* in 14 balls) and Shardul Thakur (29* in 11) then added an unbroken 49 in 20 balls.
Kolkata Knight Riders 171 in 19.4 overs
The chase started in a dramatic fashion. Ajinkya Rahane was given out off the first two balls, from Mustafizur Rahman. On both occasions he used the DRS to reverse the decision. He edged the next ball to Pant, but no one appealed.
At the other end, Venkatesh Iyer played his shots but looked uncomfortable due to the injury and did not last. Thakur took a splendid running catch to dismiss Rahane for eight.
Shreyas began with a four and batted exceedingly well. He and Nitish Rana added 69 runs in seven overs until the latter hit a full toss from Lalit Yadav straight to long on. Shreyas reached his first fifty of the season with a six, off just balls. However, Kuldeep got his revenge next ball as Shreyas misread his googly and was stumped.
From that point, Kuldeep took control of the match. He picked up three wickets in his last over to finish with 4-35. Andre Russell tried his best before holing out for 24 in the last over. Kolkata were eventually all out for 171 with Thakur picking up two wickets in the last over.
Brief scores
Delhi Capitals 215/5 in 20 overs (David Warner 61; Sunil Narine 2-21) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 171 in 19.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 54; Kuldeep Yadav 4-35) by 44 runs. Player of the Match: Kuldeep Yadav.