Kolkata Knight Riders: Kuldeep Yadav’s brilliant knock of 35 runs propelled Delhi Capitals to 153/9 against Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 47 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Eden Gardens here on Monday. Varun Chakravarthy bowled a brilliant spell of 3-16 for KKR.Delhi Capitals got off to a good start on the slow wicket at the Eden Gardens after opener Prithvi Shaw struck three boundaries in the first over of Mitchell Starc before holing it out on the leg-side straight to the wicketkeeper Phil Salt’s hand. Starc as usual didn’t have a good start but Vaibhav Arora from the other end got rid of Shaw on 13.
Jake Fraser-McGurk struggled to time the ball in this match but was able to collect a boundary and a maximum in Starc’s second over before throwing his wicket on 12. Shai Hope was bowled out by Arora in the very next over as DC ended the Power-play on 67/3.
This Eden pitch hasn’t been like the pitches of earlier in the season. It felt like KKR asked for something with a bit more help in it for the spinners after losing that sixer-fest against the Punjab Kings. And the pitch has really suited their two mystery spinners.
DC skipper Rishabh Pant and Abhishek Porel added 31 runs but after their partnership ended, wickets kept falling from the other side. Porel (18), Axar Patel (15), Tristan Stubbs (4) and Kumar Kushagra (1) got out cheaply as DC from 67 for 3 in nine overs, were reduced to 101/6 in 13 overs.
Pant, after an entertaining knock of 27 off 20 deliveries, fell prey to Chakravarthy, trying to slog-sweep towards deep midwicket and edged it straight up in the air. Chakravarthy also claimed the wickets of Stubbs and Kushagra making it a three-fer for him. Chakravarthy ended his spell with brilliant figures of 3-16 from four overs.
Kuldeep Yadav, who had shown his batting chops during the Test series against England before the IPL, played a very useful innings in the IPL, helping Delhi past the 150-run mark.
There were two edged fours to start with and also a near-catch at the boundary as well. The Capitals were 128/8, with four overs remaining. Yadav and Rasikh Salam Dar added 27 runs for the ninth wicket.
Yadav’s brilliant 35 off 29 deliveries, studded with five boundaries and a six, propelled Delhi Capitals to 153/9 in 20 overs.
Brief score:
Delhi Capitals 153/9 in 20 overs (Kuldeep Yadav 35 not out, Rishabh Pant 27; Varun Chakravarthy 3-16, Harshit Rana 2-28) against Kolkata Knight Riders
