Sunil Narine delivered a brilliant all-round display, contributing with bat and ball, to lead Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a 14-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
Narine, leading the team in the place of injured Ajinkya Rahane, was the standout player with 3-29, a key run-out of KL Rahul, and a showman's 27 off 16, keeping KKR's playoff hopes alive.
KKR left a daunting task of 205 after their batsmen put on strokeplay on a batsman-friendly track, scoring 204/9. DC, in response, peaked in the search because of a good 76-run partnership between vice-captain Faf du Plessis, top-scoring with 62, and captain Axar Patel, who contributed 43 even after hurting his left hand. Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy hit at key moments, however, and DC's pursuit was stalled as they were left with 190/9, losing their third home game.
Narine played a leading role as not only did he captain KKR, but he also played a crucial role with the ball, claiming 3-29. He was well assisted by bowling partner Chakaravarthy, who claimed 2-39. Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, and Andre Russell then chipped in with a wicket each. The match turned in favor of KKR when they made timely interventions.
DC's chase was off to a dismal start with Abishek Porel getting out early, chopping a ball to mid-off off Roy. Du Plessis capitalized on the pace of Harshit Rana, scoring three boundaries, even though he lost Karun Nair to a yorker by Arora. DC finished the power-play at 58/2 but things changed when KL Rahul got run out off Narine's direct hit from short fine leg, as du Plessis halted halfway in a bid for a quick single.
Despite du Plessis's aggression, taking and looking boundaries off Chakaravarthy, Axar's injured hand did not deter him from hitting two sixes off Narine. Du Plessis finished his fifty off 31 balls and kept DC in the game by cutting Rana's slower ball to the fence.
But Narine had other plans, claiming two important wickets in the 14th over. He dismissed Axar, who hit one to cover, and Tristan Stubbs off an off-break. Narine came back to claim du Plessis in his final over with a monstrous hit to deep mid-wicket.
Chakaravarthy came in with a double strike in the 18th over, sending Ashutosh Sharma and Mitchell Starc back. DC's hopes were dashed further as Vipraj Nigam tried to continue the chase with some boundaries, but he was eventually bowled by Russell for 38, sealing the game for KKR.
KKR's batting earlier was explosive. Rahmanullah Gurbaz drove boundaries over mid-off and cover-point off Starc. Narine took a liking to Dushmantha Chameera, hitting him for two sixes and a four, including a miraculous one-handed maximum. Gurbaz carried on the momentum, dispatching Starc for two fours and a six, but was dismissed by a yorker for 26. Narine's 50, the fastest of the season for KKR, came from 26 balls, and Rahane was his elegant best against the pacers, pulling and flicking boundaries.
Even after a mini comeback by DC, when Narine was lbw and Rahane also got caught by Axar's slider, KKR held firm. Angkrish Raghuvanshi troubled DC with two magnificent sixes off Nigam. Rinku Singh received a near-miss in the 15th over but capitalized on his luck, scoring boundaries and pushing the total of KKR to 204/9.
Russell sealed the deal with two boundaries in the 19th over and a gargantuan six off Starc before being dismissed by a yorker. While Chameera took an amazing catch to dismiss Roy, KKR's total proved to be just enough for them to emerge victorious.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 204/9 in 20 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 44, Rinku Singh 36; Mitchell Starc 3-42, Axar Patel 2-27)
Delhi Capitals: 190/9 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 62, Axar Patel 43; Sunil Narine 3-29, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-39)
KKR won by 14 runs.
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