Xtra Time Web Desk: Brilliant performances from Nitish Rana (81 off 53) and Sunil Narine (64 off 32) with the bat and mystery spinner Varun Charavarthy (5/19) with the ball helped Kolkata Knight Riders script a convincing 59-run win over Delhi Capitals in match 42 of IPL 2020 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Saturday.
With the win, KKR have now solidified their position at 4th spot in the points table while Delhi Capitals continue to occupy the 2nd spot but they have played one more game than Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Banagalore (RCB), KXIP and SRH.
Batting first the Knight Riders were staring at another low score with three wickets back in the hut with the score on 42 in 7.2 overs. Sunil Narine, who was promoted ahead of Eoin Morgan played a blinder with Nitish Rana. The duo put on 115 runs for the fourth wicket to post a daunting total of 194/6 on board. Rana in his knock hit 13 boundaries and one six while Narine was the more aggressive of the two, as he hit 6 fours and 4 sixes.
Chasing 195 runs to win none of the DC batsmen except Shreyas Iyer (47 from 38 balls) got going as they only managed 135/9. KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy was the most successful bowler as he picked 5 wickets for 20 runs in his 4 overs.
Reflecting on the win, KKR Captain said, “We had had a nice couple of days to reflect on things. In such a compact tournament, it can be easy to get caught up. Great of Sunil to come back and play as a proper all rounder. And Nitish Rana and him adding all the runs. The decision to bat Narine there is all the coach. He likes to play his cards. It is all Brendon.”
According to losing captain Shreyas Iyer, “We could have executed the plans better. I think they chose the bowlers to go after really well. They were really good in shot selection. They outplayed us in pretty much every department. Kudos to their approach and mindset.”