Delhi Capitals came very close to pulling off a stunning run chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders, but fell short by 14 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, 29 April.
Several commendable individual performances kept us in a closely contested match, but KKR ultimately edged ahead with a few extra runs to claim the two points. Faf du Plessis and skipper Axar Patel led the show with the bat, while Vipraj Nigam and Mitchell Starc were amongst the wickets.
Earlier in the day, our skipper Axar Patel won the toss and chose to bowl first. KKR got off to a good start with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine getting some big overs. The duo added 48 runs in 18 balls before an excellent catch from Abishek Porel saw Gurbaz walk back.
The scoring rate took a dip after the Powerplay and the wickets continued courtesy of some tight overs from our spinners. Vipraj Nigam got the big wicket of Sunil Narine, while Axar Patel struck twice in quick succession to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer.
Rinku Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi stitched together a 61-run partnership, helping maintain a scoring rate of over 10 runs per over. A superb final over from Mitchell Starc, which saw three wickets fall, ensured the opposition was restricted to 204/9 in their 20 overs. Starc finished with three wickets to his name, while Vipraj and Axar claimed two each.
After the break, despite the early wicket of Abishek Porel, Faf du Plessis and Karun Nair continued to tick the scorecard. However, just as we were picking up momentum, two quick wickets of Karun Nair and KL Rahul put us on the back foot.
Axar Patel, who picked up a finger injury while fielding, bravely walked out to bat under difficult circumstances. Skipper battled the pain to keep us in the hunt, while Faf du Plessis also played some delightful shots.
Faf registered his second half-century of the season, but the impressive partnership between him and Axar came to an end shortly after. Axar’s spirited innings concluded at 43 runs off 23 deliveries, with the duo putting together a valuable 76-run stand in just 42 balls.
Faf du Plessis too was dismissed soon and the momentum took a hit. A steady fall of wickets caused the required run rate to climb steadily, but Vipraj Nigam anchored one end with a composed yet powerful display. His 38 off 19 balls got us close to the target, but we fell 14 runs short.
After two consecutive games in under 48 hours, the Delhi Capitals will have a few days to recuperate before taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 5.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 204/9 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 44; Mitchell Starc 3/43, Axar Patel 2/27) beat Delhi Capitals 190/9 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 62, Axar Patel 43)
Player of the match: Sunil Narine
