DC vs KKR | Narine and Varun turn the screws as Delhi suffer second loss on the bounce

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ByDebayan Sinha, SportsCafe Editor

27

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Delhi Capitals by 14 runs, with Angkrish Raghuvanshi scoring 44 off 32 and Andre Russell’s cameo lifting them to 204/9 at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Faf du Plessis' 62 went in vain as Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy spun the match KKR’s scalping five wickets together.

‌Desperate for a win to stay in the playoff race, Kolkata was sent in to bat first by Delhi skipper Axar Patel. The decision quickly backfired as KKR openers Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz took on the new ball bowlers, Mitchell Starc and Dushmantha Chameera, smacking them to all parts. The pair surged to 48/0 in just 2.5 overs before Starc dismissed the Afghan opener. Despite Gurbaz’s departure, Ajinkya Rahane continued to impress, helping KKR to 79/1 by the end of the powerplay. The introduction of spin worked in Delhi's favour as Vipraj Nigam and Axar Patel removed Narine and Rahane in the seventh and eighth overs, respectively. After a strong start, KKR's momentum faltered when Venkatesh Iyer threw away his wicket with a reckless shot in the 10th over to Axar. With Rinku Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi at the crease, KKR reached 142/4 in 14 overs. Chameera added another breakthrough, dismissing Raghuvanshi in the 17th over. A brief cameo from Andre Russell and some quick wickets by Delhi's pacers saw the visitors finish with 204/9 in their 20 overs.

In response, Delhi Capitals had a shaky start as KKR debutant Anukul Roy removed Abishek Porel in the very first over. Faf du Plessis and Karun Nair then built a quick 39-run partnership, guiding the score to 39/1 in four overs before Vaibhav Arora struck in the fifth over to dismiss Nair. Axar Patel joined Faf at the crease and helped steady the innings, with the South African veteran reaching a fluent half-century in just 31 balls and pushing the score to 108/3 in 11 overs. Axar also showcased his batting prowess as the pair added a solid 76-run stand, taking Delhi to 130/3 in 13 overs. However, the momentum shifted dramatically in the 14th over when Sunil Narine dismissed both Axar and Tristan Stubbs, halting DC’s charge. With 67 needed off the last six overs, Delhi desperately required support for Faf. But their hopes took a further hit when Narine returned in the 16th over to remove Faf for a well-made 62 off 45 balls. Left with Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Ngam at the crease, Delhi needed 46 off the final three overs. The pressure mounted when Varun Chakaravarthy picked up Ashutosh and Mitchell Starc in the 18th over, leaving DC at 167/8 with 38 needed off 12 balls. Vipraj, striking at 200, kept hopes alive with a six and a four in the 19th over, reducing the equation to 25 needed off the final over. Ultimately, Vipraj failed to fire as Russell scalped him as KKR wont the game by 14 runs.

What was that throw?

He always does that!

It was crucial wicket there!

That was bad!

It was not required there!

Yeah! He fought well!

Alone he was!

Almost had it!

Some shots he got!

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