Shaw, Warner and Kuldeep lead Delhi to dominant win
Openers slam fifties and wrist-spinner scalps four to help Capitals post 44-run victory over Kolkata
MUMBAI: From Prithvi Shaw’s punch through cover to the boundary off the first ball of the match to Kuldeep Yadav’s triple strikes in the 16th over, Delhi Capitals got everything right as they cruised to a 44-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne stadium on Sunday.
Even before his decisive intervention in the 16th over, Kuldeep had got into the act in the 13th— his third over. KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer (54—33b, 5x4, 2x6) had just hit him for six over long-on. He stepped out to launch another one, but the wrist spinner’s googly on a good length left Iyer stranded and DC skipper Rishabh Pant executed an easy stumping.
Iyer had just reached his halfcentury and was stepping up his assault when Kuldeep outwitted him. This came just after a 69-run stand for the third-wicket between Iyer and Nitish Rana (30—20b) had provided KKR the launchpad to go hard at DC’S imposing total of 215/5.
When their skipper fell, KKR still needed 98 off the last seven overs, which looked achievable with big hitter Andre Russell at the crease and Pat Cummins still to come.
Though the pitch played true, KKR crumbled under the pressure of having to score more than two runs per ball. There was no repeat from Cummins after his onslaught had floored Mumbai Indians a few days earlier.
Sam Billings (15—9b) holed out to fine leg off left-arm pacer
AKhaleel Ahmed (3/25), who had already dismissed Venkatesh Iyer (18—8b) and Ajinkya Rahane (8—14b) at the top to make sure KKR didn’t get off to a solid start.
Then came Kuldeep’s strikes in the 16th over which practically settled the tie in DC’S favour. He dismissed Cummins (4—3b), Sunil Narine (4) and Umesh Yadav (0). Russell (24—21b) too struggled to get going. Kuldeep finished with 4/35 and was named the Playerof-the-match.
While DC bowlers did their job of defending the total, which has been rare this IPL, their batsmen had set it up with aggressive batting from the onset.
There was pressure on the Capitals batters to perform, especially after below-par efforts in the previous two outings. Opener Prithvi Shaw (51—29b, 7x4, 2x6) took up the task by taking 10 runs off the first over bowled by Umesh Yadav after KKR elected to bowl.
The ball coming on to the bat gave him confidence to play through the line and it rubbed off on the other batters. Shaw taking the initiative gave David Warner (61—45b, 6x4, 2x6) the opportunity to get his eye in and play anchor.
When Shaw was out in the ninth over, they had raised an opening stand of 93 runs in just 52 balls. It was Shaw’s second half-century on the trot, and 12th overall in IPL. DC’S 68 for no loss in the powerplay was also the third highest for the season. Capitals knew they had to maintain the momentum going in the middle overs. So, Pant (27—14b) came in at No 3, stitched a 27-ball 55-run partnership with Warner, making sure the flow of boundaries didn’t stop.
That didn’t allow KKR to apply the squeeze—they have been one of the best at doing that in the middle-overs this edition.
KKR did check the scoring once Pant was dismissed as DC scored just 42 runs between overs 14 to 18, losing three wickets. Narine was the chief orchestrator, conceding just four runs in two overs and taking two wickets in that phase. Capitals were 176/5 with two overs remaining, but Axar Patel (22—14b) and Shardul Thakur (29—11b) with an unbeaten sixthwicket stand of 49 from 20 balls made sure they ended the innings on a high.