IPL 2021 - DC vs KKR - Narine's all-round show, Rana's calm 36* help KKR win by 3 wickets

KKR have managed three wins out of four games played in the UAE leg of IPL 2021.

Kolkata Knight Riders 130/7 (Rana 36*, Gill 30, Narine 21, Avesh 3/13) beat Delhi Capitals 127/9 (Smith 39, Pant 39, Narine 2/18, Ferguson 2/10), V Iyer 2/29 by three wickets.

KKR move in top four with five wins from 11 games. (BCCI/IPL)

The Delhi Capitals (DC) openers started with a bang but after powerplay, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers brought back their team in the match. They reduced DC to only 127 runs from 20 overs while taking nine wickets.

No six in Delhi Capitals innings

Delhi Capitals openers Shikhar Dhawan and Steve Smith gave a solid start in the powerplay scoring 35 runs in first four overs but DC lost wickets in quick succession after that phase. It happened for the first time this IPL when not a single sixer was hit. This is also one of the lowest scores of Delhi Capitals in this Indian Premier League (IPL).

KKR skipper Eoin Morgan was brilliant with his captaincy as usual. He made correct bowling changes at the right times and he was spot on with fielding changes. All KKR bowlers were miserly in their bowling. Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Lockie Ferguson took two wickets each and conceded just 18, 29 and 10 runs respectively.

KKR lost wickets at regular wickets but made it with 10 balls to spare

Kolkata chased the target of 128 runs in over number 19 with the loss of seven wickets. Nitish Rana scored an unbeaten knock of 36 runs from 27 balls which included two fours and two sixes. But the highlight of the match was Sunil Narine’s quickfire 21 runs from 10 balls with a four and two sixes at a strike rate of 210. Shubman Gill also scored important 30 runs from 33 balls with one four and two sixes.

Capitals bowlers delivered a tight line and length but it was not enough to defend a small total of 127 runs. Avesh Khan was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets as he conceded just 13 runs in his spell of three overs. Anrich Nortje, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lalit Yadav and Kagiso Rabada took one wicket each.

IPL 2021 Points Table

DC remain at number two, KKR at four

With this win, Kolkata Knight Riders remain in top half of the table with 10 points and Delhi Capitals remain on second spot with eight wins and three loses from 11 games in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Read More: IPL 2021 - CSK vs KKR - Jadeja's 8-ball 22 does it for CSK in thriller, Yellow Army back to top

Stat Alert

Delhi Capitals’ lowest score in IPL after batting 20 overs:

110/9 vs MI, Dubai (2020)

114/5 vs CSK, Chennai (2012)

114/8 vs SRH, Delhi (2013)

120/9 vs PBKS, Bloemfontein (2009)

120/7 vs PBKS, Delhi (2013)

121/6 vs RPS, Vizag (2016)

127/9 vs KKR, Sharjah (2021)

- Rishabh Pant has smashed most runs for Delhi Capitals in T20 Cricket.

- Most runs for Delhi Capitals:

Rishabh Pant - 2390

Virender Sehwag - 2382

Shreyas Iyer - 2291

Most runs for other franchise:

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Virat Kohli

Chennai Super Kings - Suresh Raina

Kolkata Knight Riders - Gautam Gambhir

Sunrisers Hyderabad - David Warner

Mumbai Indians - Rohit Sharma

Punjab Kings - Shaun Marsh

Rajasthan Royals - Ajinkya Rahane

Delhi Capitals - Rishabh Pant

The second match of the day is being played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium between the fifth-placed Punjab Kings and seventh-ranked Mumbai Indians.

Twitter Reactions as KKR beat Delhi Capitals

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Capitals by three wickets and move to top four. Kolkata have found their way back into the tournament and despite captain Eoin Morgan's lean patch of form, KKR finding ways to win the games.

Here are some of the finest Twitter Reactions for KKRvsDC game:

Read More: IPL 2021 Records – Kohli second player after Gayle to have 10,000 runs in FC, List-A, T20 formats