For those believing in the law of averages, a victory for Delhi Capitals was certainly around the corner. After being dominated in five previous encounters in the IPL 2023 season, a narrow win finally came Capitals’ way and resulted in a hat-trick of defeats for Kolkata Knight Riders.
In a rain-delayed contest at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, after KKR struggled to 127, Capitals skipper David Warner set the foundation of a winning chase.
The left-hander contributed a match-winning 41-ball 57, including a 25-ball 45 studded with 10 fours in the PowerPlay. In the sixth over, Warner carted Sunil Narine for four boundaries to keep Capitals well ahead of the required run-rate.
Eventually, after a minor collapse leading to some anxious moments, the Capitals won with four wickets and as many deliveries to spare.
The early dismissals of Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Marsh did not hurt the Capitals this time. With Warner, now second in th erace for the Orange Cap with a tally of 285 runs, Capitals appeared in control.
But the dismissals of Manish Pandey for a 23-ball 21 and Aman Khan (0) raised KKR’s hopes before Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav finished the job.
While Capitals stayed in the cellar, KKR’s fourth defeat should be its most painful; it came against this season’s least-performing team.
Asked to bat, KKR found its bright spots in Jason Roy and Andre Russell, who took turns to keep the innings afloat. Roy, dropped at 24 by bowler Mitchell Marsh, went on to score 43 including five boundaries and a six. His fall to Kuldeep Yadav left KKR tottering at 93 for seven in the 15th over.
Later, after being in danger of running out of partners, Russell provided the late flourish by hitting three successive sixes off the final over bowled by Mukesh Kumar. The over resulted in 19 runs and the last-ball run-out of Varun Chakaravarthy.
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