Delhi Capitals (DC) captured the top spot in the points table after they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 18 runs at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing a challenging target of 229, KKR had a dreadful start as they lost the opener, Sunil Narine, for just 3 runs. Shubman Gill (28) and Nitish Rana (58) steadied the innings and added 64-runs for the second wicket.
Both Shubman and Rana were looking settled, but Amit Mishra had some other plans. The leggie ended the partnership with Shubman’s wicket.
Rana did hold his end and smashed a half-century, but the likes of Dinesh Karthik (6) and Andre Russell (13) didn’t rise to the occasion.
However, later in the innings, KKR did send some shockwaves to DC camp when Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi added 78 runs for the sixth wicket.
Morgan scored 44 from just 18 balls, including one four and five sixes. Tripathi, on the other hand, slammed 36 runs off 16 deliveries with the help of six boundaries.
But DC held their nerves and won the game by 18 runs, thanks to Anrich Nortje, who bowled the crucial 19th over and got the much-needed wicket of Morgan. Nortje gave only five runs in the penultimate over of KKR’s chase.
Iyer’s captain knock guides DC to a commendable total
Earlier, DC skipper Shreyas Iyer led from the front and scored 88 not out off 38 balls with a mind-boggling strike-rate of 231.58. The right-handed batsman smashed seven fours and 6 towering sixes.
Apart from Iyer, opening batsman Prithvi Shaw shined with the willow as well. He scored 66 runs with the help of eight boundaries, including four sixes. Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant also made a valuable contribution of 38 off 17 balls as DC posted 228/4 in their allotted 20 overs.
For KKR, Russell was their most successful bowler. He picked up two wickets and conceded only 29 runs in his quota of four overs.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Genuinely feel @Eoin16 should lead the side,(surly not*dk kolaimandaaaiii🐙
)World Cup winning captain should surly lead ipl side.I hope #kkr looks at this issue.nd win ✌🏻they need a leader who will lead from front like Rohit ,Dhoni or Virat..what a player #ipl #kkr #cricket— Sreesanth (@sreesanth36) October 3, 2020
I thought it was going to be easy for Kolkata in #KKRvsDC game the way Morgan was hitting. DC once again showing they have a very balanced team this time and can handle pressure well.#DCvsKKR #IPL2020
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) October 3, 2020
What a match it was!! Superb come back from @KKRiders. Kudos to #Morgan and #Tripathi. But, in the end it was @DelhiCapitals who has shown the character and held their nerves tight to pull the game. Great bowling by #AnrichNortje #HarshalPatel @IPL #DCvKKR #IPL2020
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) October 3, 2020
Honestly, #KKR should have Eoin Morgan as their captain.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) October 3, 2020
Match aggregates at Sharjah this IPL:
1st match: 416 runs
2nd match: 449 runs
3rd match: 438 runs#DCvsKKR— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) October 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/isaguha/status/1312455871121690624
Replace Kartik with Rinku Singh and yes even Rinku Singh is better because then Morgan will be captain.
— Arnab Ray (@greatbong) October 3, 2020
#IPL2020 at Sharjah.
RR v KXIP
1st inns – 200+ ✅
2nd inns – 200+ ✅RR v CSK
1st inns – 200+ ✅
2nd inns – 200+ ✅KKR v DC
1st inns – 200+ ✅
2nd inns – 200+ ✅#KKRvDC— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) October 3, 2020
.@AnrichNortje02 appreciation tweet 💙#DCvKKR #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/789NXXsOpK
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) October 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/LoyalMIfan/status/1312455166860251136
That's that from Match 16 of #Dream11IPL as @DelhiCapitals win by 18 runs.#DCvKKR pic.twitter.com/JIyTe1zwdD
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 3, 2020
Kagiso Rabada's streak of 10 consecutive IPL matches with at least 2 wickets comes to an end. #IPL2020 #DCvKKR
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) October 3, 2020
Hmm interesting times for #KKR not sure that Narine is the right opener given that he isn't scoring runs at the top, plus DK is finding it hard. #IPL2020
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 3, 2020
We NEVER give up. Our boys gave it their all tonight!
We'll take this one on the chin and will be back stronger 💪🏻#DCvKKR #KKR #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/BkthDfk6SX
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 3, 2020
