Phil Salt (68 runs) and Varun Chakaravarthy (3/16) were the star performers for Kolkata Knight Riders as they crushed Delhi Capitals by seven wickets to get back to winning ways. KKR overhauled a modest target of 154 in 16.3 overs. They stay second on the points table, with 12 points from nine games. DC are sixth with 10 points from 11 matches.
The Salt show
The Lancashire and England cricketer has been one of the mainstays of the KKR unit, both with the bat and the big gloves. He once more put on an exhibition of his pyrotechnics. In the opening over itself, he smacked Lizaad Williams for three fours and a six as KKR collected 23 runs. In Williams’ second over, too, Salt crunched a couple of sixes. Even DC’s hero from the last game — Rasikh Salam — wasn’t spared as he ended up giving away three boundaries.
The highlight of Salt’s stroke-play was how he thumped Salam on the up and through extra cover. By the time he was dismissed by Williams, the home side’s 100 was already up in the ninth over.
Chakaravarthy finds form
The spinner bagged the key wickets of Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs and Kumar Kushagra. He mixed up his lengths and variations. The way he used the leg-spinner to remove Stubbs exemplifies the point. He also showed the required temperament, as early in his spell, Harshit Rana put down a catch, with Pant getting the reprieve. However, he soon dismissed Pant for a 20-ball 27.
Rest of KKR’s bowlers chip in
It wasn’t just about Chakaravarthy regaining his mojo, as Vaibhav Arora, Rana and Sunil Narine also bagged wickets at regular intervals. Although Mitchell Starc was expensive, he too picked up a scalp. It was a much better performance from a side that wasn’t able to defend 261 in the last game.
Kuldeep shines with the bat
In the recent past, Kuldeep Yadav has put on some useful performances with the willow in hand. He gave more evidence of his batting prowess, scoring a 26-ball 35. The innings included five boundaries and a six. Unfortunately for DC, it wasn’t enough to take them to a substantial total.