Delhi Capitals win by four wickets
Delhi Capitals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in the Indian Premier League on Thursday. Sent into bat, Kolkata Knight Riders were restricted to 146 for nine. DC chased down the target with six balls to spare.
Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the most impressive bowler with figures of 4/14 from three overs, while Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets in a brilliant final over Opener David Warner blasted 42 off 26 balls for DC.With the exception of skipper Shreyas Iyer (42), the KKR top-order struggled to get going against the Capitals’ bowlers at the Wankhede Stadium.
Batting at number six, Nitish Rana top-scored with 57 off 34 balls and hit three fours and four sixes, even as the others failed to leave KKR reeling at 35/4 at one stage.
Both teams will be looking for a win desperately as they want to get into the playoffs before things get out of their hands. Delhi with 3 wins and 4 losses from 7 games is placed 7th but has the best net run rate this season compared to any other team. This is definitely an advantage for the Delhi Capitals but they would want some more winnings against their name.
Delhi Capitals’ bowling took a toll against Rajasthan Royals as RR batters Jos Buttler (116), Devdutt Padikkal(54), and skipper Sanju Samson(46*) made a mockery of DC’s bowling attack. The Capitals are definitely missing the services of their express Proteas pacer Anrich
Nortje who still isn’t 100% fit. The Indian bowling contingent of DC isn’t an experienced one but they have to put up a better show against KKR if they want to progress to the playoffs .
Having been found positive for COVID-19, Delhi Capitals’ Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and New Zealand’s keeper batter Tim Seifert are still unavailable for this match.
Lalit Yadav is a handy off-spinner but he isn’t handy with the bat at the lower order when the batters have to go berserk. His inability to hit the long ball might force Delhi Capitals team management to look beyond him and bring someone like Ripal Patel who is a brilliant striker of the cricket ball and a handy medium-pacer too. Also, Delhi Capitals might try someone like Yash Dhull or Kona Srikar Bharat in place of Sarfaraz Khan.
Delhi Capitals have been too reliant on their openers David Warner (219 runs, 3 fifties) and Prithvi Shaw (254 runs, 2 fifties) in their batting. Rishabh Pant has played some good cameos but is yet to make a fifty so far.
Rovman Powell will be needed to play a big role in the middle order alongside all-rounders Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, and Shardul Thakur. Kuldeep Yadav (13 wickets) and Khaleel Ahmed (11 wickets) have been Delhi’s main wicket-takers this season so far. Axar Patel, Mustafizur Rahman, and Lalit Yadav have chipped in with wickets and have kept the batters silent with economy rates under 8 per over. Shardul Thakur has been going at an economy rate of 9.6 runs per over and will be looking to make a comeback with the ball in this match.
Kolkata Knight Riders: 146/9 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 42, Nitish Rana 57; Kuldeep Yadav 4/14, Mustafizur Rahman 3/18).
Delhi Capitals: 150/6 in 19 overs (David Warner 42; Umesh Yadav 3/24).
(Agencies)