Kolkata Knight Riders 204 for 9 (Raghuvanshi 44, Rinku 36, Starc 3-43) vs Delhi Capitals
Kolkata Knight Riders posted the second-highest target set in Delhi this IPL, but hosts Delhi Capitals had reason to believe they had held them back. This was the best batting track produced by Delhi this year, KKR got off to their second-best powerplay of the year with 79 off 36, but their run-rate kept declining after the ninth over, when their score was 111 for 3. Axar Patel, who had to delay bringing himself on because of the adverse match-up against Sunil Narine, bowled four straight overs for 27 runs and two wickets.
Teams have been wary of the Delhi track this year, but this one was the friendliest for the batters. Narine, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ajinkya Rahane could hit through the line at the top, but they all fell in the late 20s. The 48-run stand between Narine and Gurbaz was their best opening partnership of the season.
Even though the ball didn't turn or grip much, the introduction of spin provided DC with an immediate comeback into the contest. Vipraj Nigam got Narine lbw in the seventh over, which meant Axar could now bowl. He got Rahane lbw in the eight, and Venkatesh Iyer on the slog-sweep in the tenth. Both the balls went straight on.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh now had to pipe down the aggression a bit to make sure Andre Russell wouldn't get too many balls to face. They added 61 off 7.3 overs for the fifth wicket, even negated the threat of Kuldeep Yadav by taking 27 off his three overs, but in a chaotic finish KKR lost their way. Nigam had Rinku caught at long-on in the 18th, Dushmantha Chameera bowled good wide yorkers in the 19th, and Mitchell Starc got two wickets in the 19th. Starved of strike, Russell was run-out in the final over for 17 off 9. KKR added only 45 in the last five overs.