Kartik Tyagi shone with the ball and was one of the reasons why DC came back post the power play. Kartik Tyagi was superb in the death overs, while other bowlers supported him and complemented him really well. The spinners choked the Capitals in the middle phase, and the home team had one proper performer in Pathum Nissanka to manage the power play overs and scored a fifty. Ashutosh played well, but the others faltered and lost the plot as well.
Pathum Nissanka gives DC a solid start in power play
Put into bat first, Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul came out to bat for DC while Anukul Roy had the ball in hand for KKR. Nissanka was off and running straightaway as he rocked back and pulled it away towards midwicket for a boundary. Vaibhav Arora came into the attack from the other end. Nissanka took on Vaibhav and pulled it away over deep backward square leg for the maximum.
Anukul continued as Rahul got underneath it and lofted it over the top of mid-on for a boundary. Nissanka went bang as he rocked back and pulled it away over deep midwicket for the maximum. Sunil Narine came into the attack next as Nissanka leaned forward and drove it past the diving mid-off for a boundary. Rahul joined in the fun as he rocked back and pulled it away through wide mid-on as the ball went away to the fence in no time.
Kartik Tyagi came into the attack next. Rahul carved it away through the point region as Anukul fumbled at the deep backward point with the ball going away to the fence. Rahul completed 1000 runs for DC in IPL. Rahul smashed the ball down the ground past mid-off for a boundary and completed 500 fours in his IPL career. Tyagi provided the breakthrough for KKR as Rahul was dismissed for 23 off 14 balls with 4 fours to his name, as the batter threw his wicket away.
Nitish Rana came out to bat next. Vaibhav Arora came back into the attack to bowl the last over of the power play. Nissanka got a ball on the pads as he glanced it over the top of Varun at short fine leg for a boundary. The 50 came up for the Capitals inside the power play in 5.1 overs. At the end of the power play, DC were 55/1 in 6 overs with Nissanka unbeaten on 31 off 18 balls alongside Nitish Rana unbeaten on 1 off 4 balls.
KKR spinners run through DC batting in the middle overs of the game
Varun Chakaravarthy came into the attack after the power play. Nissanka hung back, opened the bat face and guided it through the gap between the point and short third man for a boundary. Cameron Green came into the attack next. Nissanka took on Green by whipping it nonchalantly over backward square leg for the maximum. Rana took on Green as he shimmied down the wicket and threw his hands at it and slashed it up and over backward point for a boundary.
Green had the last laugh as he removed Rana for 8 off 10 balls with one four to his name as the miscue went to Narine at short fine leg. Sameer Rizvi came out to bat next. Varun continued and bowled a probing over with Rizvi and Nissanka struggling to pick him up. The Strategic Time Out was taken with DC at 77/2 in 9 overs. Sunil Narine came back to bowl his second over. Narine removed Rizvi for 3 off 7 balls as the batter went for the slog sweep and picked out Powell at midwicket region. Tristan Stubbs came out to bat next.
DC were 80/3 in 10 overs. Roy continued as Nissanka stepped out of the crease and went inside out over covers for a boundary. Nissanka brought up his fifty in 29 balls. Roy hit back and got rid of Nissanka for 50 off 29 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name as Raghuvanshi did the rest with the batter being stumped off a wide. Axar Patel came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Roy had another as he cleaned up Stubbs for 2 off 4 balls as he played down the wrong line, as the ball hit the top of the off-pole.
Ashutosh Sharma came out to bat next. Narine continued and bowled a tight over. Roy continued as Ashutosh survived a close caught behind down the leg side as the ball missed the flick and hit the pads. Varun came back into the attack and bowled another tight over. DC were 96/5 in 14 overs when we again paused for the Strategic Time Out, the second of the innings.
Kartik Tyagi came back into the attack next to bowl the 15th over. Tyagi bowled another miserly over. After 15 overs, DC were 98/5 with Axar Patel unbeaten on 6 off 16 balls, while Ashutosh Sharma was unbeaten on 4 off 10 balls, with both struggling out there in the middle. The important death overs phase comes our way now.
Ashutosh Sharma finishes with a flourish, but DC has been restricted to 142/8 in 20 overs
Sunil Narine came to bowl the 16th over. He bowled a tight 16th over as the 100 came up for Delhi Capitals in 16 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy came to bowl his final over. Ashutosh broke the shackles as he got underneath it and launched it straight down the ground for the maximum over long-off. Ashutosh then punched off the back foot through the covers for a boundary. Ashutosh was in the mood as he sliced it over the point region for a boundary. Varun finished his spell.
Kartik Tyagi came back into the attack. Ashutosh showed innovation as he stood tall and played a deft upper cut over the keeper’s head for the maximum. Vaibhav Arora came to bowl the 19th over. He removed the struggling Axar Patel, the captain for 11 off 22 balls, as he showed poor intent and was holed out by Anukul Roy, who took a brilliant catch. Vipraj Nigam came out to bat next and got off the mark. Ashutosh took on Vaibhav as he played the reverse ramp over third man for the maximum.
Ashutosh then showed power as he swung hard down the ground over the umpire’s head for a boundary. Tyagi came to bowl the final over of the innings. Tyagi removed Ashutosh for 39 off 28 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name as he looked to go over covers, as the captain Rahane took a good catch in the deep. Mitchell Starc came out to bat next. Starc was run out for a silver duck, trying to sneak in a bye and give the strike to the set batter.
Lungi Ngidi came out to bat next, as Nigam managed only a single, and the last ball yielded a single as well. The Capitals ended with a competitive but below-par 142/8 in 20 overs. Nigam was unbeaten on 3 off 3 balls while Ngidi was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. Just 2 extras in the form of wides given by the fielding side.
KKR bowlers bowled well and came back post the power play. Kartik Tyagi was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/25 in 4 overs. Anukul Roy finished with 2/31 in 4 overs. Sunil Narine finished with 1/17 in 4 overs. Vaibhav Arora finished with 1/29 in 3 overs. Cameron Green bowled an over for 12 runs and picked up a wicket. Varun Chakaravarthy bowled 4 overs for 28 runs and picked up 0 wickets. This meant KKR needed 143 runs to win in 20 overs.
Who’s Winning, DC or KKR?Â
KKR has done well post the power play to keep DC down to 142. DC lost the plot in the middle phase, but thanks to some lusty blows from Ashutosh Sharma, they managed to get past 140. But it looks below par at the interval. If KKR bats well, they will win this contest. If DC gets wickets, then it could be a problem for everyone. Let’s see how the chase unfolds.
Also Read:Â DC vs KKR: DC & KKR Face Off In Do-Or-Die Clash