In the 42nd match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by 59 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Chasing a mammoth target of 195, DC had a dreadful start as they lost opener Ajinkya Rahane for a golden duck. Soon, DC lost Shikhar Dhawan for 6 runs. KKR pacer Pat Cummins picked up both the wickets.
Then, DC skipper Shreyas Iyer (45) and Rishabh Pant (27) tried to stabilize the innings. The pair added a 63-run stand for the third wicket before Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Pant.
Chakravarthy completely changed the scenarios for his side as he bagged four more wickets in quick succession to take the game away from Capitals.
DC witnessed a collapse in their difficult chase. From 76/3 in 11.2 overs, the Capitals were reduced to 112/7 in 15.5 overs.
In the end, DC could only reach 135/9, losing the contest by 59 runs.
Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine power KKR to 194/6
Earlier, Nitish Rana was promoted to open the innings along with Shubman Gill. The move did wonders for KKR as Rana came out all guns blazing with a whirlwind 81 off 53 balls. The 26-year-old smashed 13 fours and one six during his scintillating knock.
Apart from Rana, Sunil Narine also shined with the willow as he scored a 32-ball 64 to propel Knight Riders to a commanding 194/6. The left-handed duo put together a 115-run stand for the fourth wicket from just 59 deliveries and completely dominated the DC bowlers.
For Capitals, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Marcus Stoinis bagged two wickets each. Nortje was the least expensive bowler for DC as well. He conceded just 27 runs in his quota of four overs at an economy of 6.80.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Brilliant bowling by #VarunChakravarthy, a fiver in t20 is a massive milestone! Congrats to @KKRiders for a brilliant victory over @DelhiCapitals ! #KKRvsDC #IPL
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) October 24, 2020
Confidence booster win for #kkr #sunilnarine #nitishrana #VarunChakravarthy
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 24, 2020
#KKR triumph tonight has put the cat amongst the pigeons. They have a realistic chance of going to 16 points….which means teams below them have no breathing space left. Good fun. #IPL2020
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 24, 2020
Loved d control over his knuckle and wrong ones. Big congratulations to #VarunChakravarthy for getting a fifer today. Outstanding milestone on MahaAsthami day. Big win this for @kkr goin ahead 🤙 #KKRvsDC #IPL
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) October 24, 2020
Big win tonight for #KKR going forward . Rana, Naraine n the man Of the moment Varun have done it for #KKR. Total dominance. Tough game for #DC #IPL2020 #KKRvsDC
— Mithun Manhas (@MithunManhas) October 24, 2020
Sensational stuff!! #VarunChakravarthy unbelievable bowling, 5 wickets in @IPL. Best bowling figure in this #IPL2020 @KKRiders #KKRvDC
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) October 24, 2020
FIFTY!
A well made half-century for @NitishRana_27 off 35 deliveries. His 10th in IPL.#Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/NZSCEM125J
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 24, 2020
Top spell today, #VarunChakravarthy 👏👏👏#KKRvDC #YehHaiNayiDilli #Dream11IPL
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) October 24, 2020
Varun Chakravarthy's spell powers KKR to victory.https://t.co/eBS8pFfbvR#IPL2020 #KKRvDC #cricket pic.twitter.com/u3GSY3w24y
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) October 24, 2020
.@KKRiders look like such a different side when Narine comes back into the XI. Big win, whereas now @DelhiCapitals back to back losses, with still #SRH, #MI & #RCB to play 😬
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 24, 2020
Confidence booster win for #kkr #sunilnarine #nitishrana #VarunChakravarthy
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 24, 2020
Impressive bowling by Varun Chakravarthy, batsmen tried to target him and he beautifully overturned the attack
Congratulations for the win @KKRidersNot so happy with #DC's overall intent in this game.#KKRvDC pic.twitter.com/LHgzd1zTRb
— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) October 24, 2020