Yesterday’s IPL 2023 match between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi saw Delhi Capitals emerge victorious by four wickets.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, DC did an excellent job of limiting KKR to a total of 127 runs. DC captain David Warner played a crucial role in the chase, scoring 57 runs off 41 deliveries. However, the team faced a setback in the latter half of the innings before managing to secure the win with just four balls to spare, finishing the game in 19.2 overs.
David Warner started the innings aggressively, hitting five boundaries in the first three overs. However, Prithvi Shaw’s struggles with the bat continued as he was bowled by Varun Chakravarthy for 13 runs while attempting to cut a good length delivery. Warner then took on Sunil Narine in the final over of the powerplay, hitting him for four consecutive fours.
Despite Delhi’s steady loss of wickets, KKR managed to stay in the game. Nitish Rana caught Mitchell Marsh (2) at long-off, and Anukul Roy took a return catch to dismiss Phil Salt (5). KKR’s chances were further boosted when Varun Chakravarthy dismissed DC captain David Warner lbw after he missed a reverse sweep.
Anukul got the wicket of Manish Pandey (21) as he chipped a tossed-up delivery to long-on, and Aman Hakim Khan was dismissed for a duck by Nitish Rana. Despite some anxious moments, Axar Patel (19* off 22) held his nerve and played a crucial role in securing Delhi’s first victory of IPL 2023. The winning runs came off a free hit from Kulwant Khejroliya as Axar lofted a full-toss for a couple.
DC’s bowling attack, consisting of Ishant Sharma (2-19), Anrich Nortje (2-20), Axar Patel (2-13), and Kuldeep Yadav (2-15), worked together to bowl out KKR for a total of 127 runs in 20 overs.
KKR’s innings got off to a rough start when Litton Das (4) was caught at square leg off Mukesh Kumar’s delivery, setting the tone for the rest of their innings. Venkatesh Iyer (0) edged a fast delivery from Nortje to slip, while Nitish Rana (4) was caught at mid-on off Ishant’s delivery.
Mandeep Singh (12) was dismissed after attempting a reverse-hit, only to be bowled out by Axar Patel, and Rinku Singh (6) chipped the left-arm spinner’s delivery to deep square leg. Sunil Narine (4) was dismissed by Ishant Sharma.
Despite losing partners at the other end, opener Jason Roy played well, scoring 43 runs off 39 deliveries. However, his innings was cut short when he top-edged a sweep off Kuldeep Yadav’s delivery to backward square leg. Kuldeep then took two wickets in two deliveries, trapping Anukul Roy lbw for a first-ball duck.
Anrich Nortje dismissed Umesh Yadav (3), and KKR found themselves struggling at 96-9. However, Andre Russell (38* off 31) managed to add some crucial runs to the total by hitting Mukesh Kumar for three consecutive sixes in the final over of the innings, giving KKR’s total a semblance of respectability.
