New Delhi: Sunil Narine put on a brilliant all-round show — scoring 27 off 16 balls and claiming 3-29 with the ball, being the stand-in captain and effecting a crucial run-out — to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) edge Delhi Capitals (DC) by 14 runs and keep themselves in contention for a playoffs spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here.
After KKR had their batters producing quick knocks at a great strike rate to post 204/9 on a pitch that was great for batting, DC threatened to chase down the total via a 76-run stand between vice-captain Faf du Plessis, who top-scored with 62, and skipper Axar Patel, who smashed 43 despite suffering a left-hand injury while fielding.
But Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, despite initial expensive spells, made decisive double strikes in the 14th and 18th overs respectively, as DC went from 136/3 to eventually finish at 190/9, to suffer their third defeat at their original home venue.
Apart from taking 3-29, Narine was also the stand-in captain due to Ajinkya Rahane’s hand injury and Venkatesh Iyer being subbed out and even ran out KL Rahul to ensure he had a memorable game with all-round contributions. His bowling partner Chakaravarthy took 2-39 as KKR were also supported by Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, and Andre Russell, taking a wicket each.
DC’s chase began on a bad note as Abishek Porel sliced to mid-off against left-arm spinner Anukul Roy, who didn’t allow batters to break free by mixing up his deliveries nicely. Du Plessis made the most of the pace from Harshit Rana by smacking him for three boundaries, though he lost Karun Nair, who was trapped lbw by a straight yorker from Vaibhav Arora for 15.
After DC ended the power-play at 58/2, DC suffered a big blow when du Plessis stopped halfway and KL Rahul tried completing the quick single, but his late urgency didn’t help as he was caught just short of the crease by Narine’s direct hit from short fine leg.
Previously, KKR began with a bang as Rahmanullah Gurbaz drilled Starc for boundaries through mid-off and cover-point. Narine took a liking to Dushmantha Chameera dishing out fuller balls and on pads to take him for two sixes and a four, with the one-handed maximum being the standout, as 25 runs came off the second over.
