Kolkata Knight Riders limit Delhi Capitals to 159 in crushing IPL win
KOLKATA, India (AP) — Kolkata Knight Riders dismantled batting maestros the Delhi Capitals at home in a commanding seven-wicket win in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Delhi scored 220-plus in two of its last three games but crashed to 153-9, a total saved from embarrassment by No. 9 batter Kuldeep Yadav lashing out for an unbeaten 35 off 26 balls.
Kolkata raced to 157-3 in 16.3 overs and cemented second place on the table. Phil Salt capitalized on a second-over dropped catch to smash 68, his fourth half-century of the season.
Delhi stayed sixth.
Delhi made a rollicking start when Prithvi Shaw smashed three successive boundaries off fit-again Mitchell Starc’s first three legitimate balls in the first over that went for 19 runs.
Jake Fraser-McGurk then lofted Starc for a six and a sliced boundary over point in the left-armer’s next over. But Fraser-McGurk holed out to deep square leg as Starc found his groove.
The bowlers were brilliant.
Fellow fast bowler Vaibhav Arora (2-29), recalled after two games, found a thin edge off Shaw’s bat as he attempted a glance to fine leg, and also knocked the top of Shai Hope’s (6) stumps as Delhi slipped to 3-37.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy (3-16) and Narine (1-24) entangled Delhi in the middle overs as it slumped to 111-8 before the last five overs.
Delhi captain Rishabh Pant got a life on 18 when Harshit Rana dropped him at short third man but miscued a fuller delivery by Varun and was caught at extra cover on 27. Tristan Stubbs on 4 edged Varun to Phil Salt behind the wickets.
Rana compensated with 2-28. Only Andre Russell was expensive, his one late over costing 10 runs that helped Yadav and Delhi cross 150.
Kolkata's chase was aided by Delhi.
Fast bowler Lizaad Williams' first over went for 23 and he spilled a skier by Salt on 15 at mid-on.
Salt pounded five sixes and seven boundaries in a whirlwind 26-ball fifty as he and Sunil Narine plundered the power play for 79 without loss. Narine was out next ball for 15.
Salt was next to go for a 33-ball 68, attempting to cut left-arm spinner Axar Patel and beaten by pace. By then it was 96-2 in the ninth over.
Captain Shreyas Iyer, 33 not out, and Venkatesh Iyer, 26 not out, saw out the win.
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