IPL 2021 Match 41: Kolkata Knight Riders stay alive in the tournament with an impressive win
After losing their previous match, Kolkata Knight Riders
staged a strong comeback defeating Delhi Capitals in a low-scoring thriller
match played at Sharjah Cricket Ground, Sharjah on Tuesday.
KKR captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to field
first. It was an impressive start by Shikhar Dhawan playing with intent taking
on Sandeep Warrier with a flurry of boundaries. Tim Southee making his debut for
KKR bowled decently in the initial overs. Dhawan survived an LBW shout given
not out by the umpire and on review, it was retained due to the umpire’s call. On
the other hand, Steve Smith replacing Shaw struggled but hit some lovely
boundaries.
Ferguson struck for KKR dismissing the dangerous Dhawan
providing a simple catch to Iyer. Dhawan made 24 and added 35 runs. Delhi
Capitals ended the first six overs at 39 for 1.
After the field restrictions, Sunil Narine produced a peach
to dismiss Shreyas Iyer leaving DC in some trouble. KKR bowlers kept tight
lines and lengths making life tough for DC batsmen. At the end of the first timeout,
DC made 52 for 2.
Smith upped the ante with attacking strokes and kept the pressure on KKR bowlers. On the other hand, Pant was not able to time the ball
as Iyer showed variations. Steve Smith was castled by Ferguson in an attempt to increase the run rate. Smith and Pant added 37 runs for the 3rd wicket. Shimron
Hetymer could not go over the rope providing an easy catch to Southee at long-off.
At the end of the 2nd timeout, DC scored 88 for 4.
Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel could not open their accounts
leaving Delhi Capitals in big trouble at 92 for 6. Ravichandran Ashwin along
with Pant put some valuable runs. Southee dismissed Ashwin in an attempt to hit a big shot. Ashwin and Pant added 28 runs for the 7th wicket. Pant was
run out while taking the second run. Avesh Khan did the job but was run out of the final ball. Delhi Capitals posted 127 for 9 in 20 overs.
Chasing 128 runs to win, it was a decent start by Venetaksh Iyer
and Shubman Gill putting pressure on Nortje and Axar Patel. Lalit Yadav struck
for DC bowling quicker delivery to dismiss Iyer. Rahul Tripathi looked in
decent touch creating pressure. Avesh Khan deceived Rahul Tripathi providing a simple
catch to Smith at mid-off. At the end of the first six overs, KKR scored 44 for
2.
After the field restrictions, Rana and Gill steadied the
ship for KKR taking them to 62 for 2 at the end of the first timeout. DC made a
comeback into the game as Kagiso Rabada took Gill’s wicket while Ashwin got rid of
KKR captain Eoin Morgan to leave KKR in trouble.
Nitish Rana took the attack on DC bowlers especially Lalit
Yadav hitting him for 19 runs. After stroking lovely boundaries, Avesh Khan got
the important wicket of Karthik taking the inside edge onto the stumps.
Karthik and Rana added 28 runs for the 5th
wicket. Sunil Narine showed great hitting skills smashing him for 20 runs to
make the match in favor of KKR. At the end of the 2nd timeout, KKR
looked in a comfortable position at 119 for 5.
After the timeout, DC did their best to make a match out of it
dismissing Narine and then Tim Southee. Nitish Rana hit the winning runs as KKR
won the match by 3 wickets.
KKR 130 for 7 in 18.2 overs (Nitish Rana 36*, Gill 30, Avesh
Khan 3/13) beat Delhi Capitals 127 for 9 in 20 overs (Smith 39, Pant 39, Sunil
Narine 2/18, Iyer 2/29) by 3 wickets.
For his 21 off 10 balls and 2 for 18 in 4 overs, Sunil
Narine was awarded the man of the match award. With this win, KKR moved to the
fourth position.
KKR hopes alive to stay in the tournament with 3 wicket win over DC
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