The first encounter of Super Saturday was hosted between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals at Abu Dhabi.
It was a resurgent KKR side which came out triumphant against the table-toppers by a whopping margin of 59 runs.
Earlier, KKR displayed a brilliant rear-guard action, after being reduced to 42-3 within 8 overs. With the new ball, Anrich Nortje (2/27) sent back Shubman Gill (9) and Rahul Tripathi (13) back into the dug-out. His South African counterpart, Kagiso Rabada (2/33) clinched the wicket of Dinesh Karthik (3).
What followed was a brilliant partnership between Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine who added 115 runs for the fourth wicket.
Rana entertained the spectators with his prolific knock of 81 which came off just 53 deliveries. The glamourous left-hander smashed 13 fours and a maximum during his crucial knock.
Narine, making a comeback in the XI, supported Rana with his blistering knock of 64 which came at a strike rate of 200. The West Indies all-rounder smashed six fours and four sixes in his outing. A useful cameo from captain Eoin Morgan (17 off 9) helped KKR post a daunting score of 194/6 in their 20 overs.
Nortje, Rabada and Marcus Stoinis (2/41) were the pick of the bowlers as they scalped a couple of wickets each.
Chasing a challenging target of 195, DC went off to the worst–possible start as they lost Ajinkya Rahane (0) in the first delivery of their innings.
KKR’s multi-million dollar signing, Pat Cummins (3/17), removed man-in-form Shikhar Dhawan (6), shortly after picking the wicket of Rahane.
DC had their backs to the wall as the score read 13/2 with Dhawan back in the hut. Captain Shreyas Iyer (47 off 38) and Rishabh Pant (27 off 33) tried to revive DC’s innings with their 63-run partnership.
However, the turning point of the match arrived when rookie spinner Varun Chakravarthy (5/20) was introduced into the attack.
The wily off-spinner became the first bowler in IPL 2020 to clinch a five-wicket haul. The Tamil Nadu cricketer ran through the DC middle-order with his guile and deception.
DC kept losing wickets at regular intervals and made their task stiffer. In the end, the Capitals could only manage 135 and lost 8 wickets in the process. Chakravarthy walked away with the ‘Man of the Match’ title as KKR stay in the hunt for the Playoffs.
Brief Scores:
KKR – 194/6 in 20 overs (Rana 81, Nortje 2/27) beat
DC – 135/8 in 20 overs (Iyer 47, Chakravarthy 5/20) by 59 runs.
0 Comments