Gargi Raut in Delhi
Kolkata Knight Riders faced off against Delhi Capitals at a crucial juncture in their season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. In what turned out to be a hard-fought contest, KKR emerged victorious by 14 runs, which in turn gave the seventh-ranked side a much-needed boost to resurrect their floundering campaign.
Solid opening foundation with the bat
Even after an early wicket, KKR got going. It was Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine that stitched up an important 48-run partnership. They had notched up that score in just three overs. Putting the pressure on DC, Gurbaz and Narine had built a foundation for the middle-order. Narine’s contribution at the top has paid off several times. The second partnership was built between Ajinkya Rahane and Narine, the two stitched together 37 runs. The two partnerships had already given KKR the boost that they needed.
While no one got a big fifty, it was evident that the batting lineup looked like a complete unit. Angkrish Raghuvanshi led with a run-a-ball 44. While Rinku Singh and Andre Russell provided the finishing touches. Rinku scored a fiery 36 off 25 while Russell scored 17 off 9. They weren’t huge knocks by any means, but important partnerships and cameos that took KKR over the 200-run mark. A total that the bowlers could work with.
KKR’s bowling strategy
Ajinkya Rahane’s decision to open with spin worked out well in KKR’s favour. Anukul Roy scalped the first wicket, removing Abhisek Porel in the very first over. That early wicket shook DC. Subsequently it was Varun Chakravarty and Sunil Narine’s turn to run the show. After his contributions with the bat, Narine scalped 3 wickets and did not leak any runs. On the other hand, Varun delivered at a crunch time, as he picked up two wickets in his final over that shifted the momentum back in KKR’s favour.
The support-cast
While pacers Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana did not get loads of wickets – Arora picked up one and Rana went wicketless. They kept their bowling tight; even when Faf du Plessis was going strong, the duo did not leak too many boundaries and made the DC batters work hard to keep the scoreboard moving. Arora picked up Karun Nair’s wicket and it stopped DC from rebuilding their tracks. Andre Russell, who didn’t bowl in the last game, closed things out; he castled Vipraj Nigam with a yorker in the final over that sealed it for KKR.
Ice-cold under pressure
Rahane contributed to an important partnership, even if he did not get a big knock. He also stayed calm throughout the second innings. His tactical decisions – from trusting spin early, to keeping the fields open when DC batters had gotten going and backing his bowlers – Rahane’s leadership was calm and composed. In a high-stakes game, that made a difference.