Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kept their playoff hopes alive with a gritty 14-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, riding on a vintage all-round performance from Sunil Narine and capitalizing on DC’s continuing struggles at home.
DC’s fourth loss at home — and third from a position of control — laid bare several recurring issues. Despite having a strong spin arsenal, their batting lineup faltered once again during the middle overs against spin. Key batters who began the season in prime form have faded at the worst possible time, and the fast bowlers continue to leak runs at crunch moments. All of this has contributed to DC’s inability to defend their fortress at Kotla.
Narine Orchestrates DC’s Downfall
KKR were far from their best but still managed to post a daunting 204/9, thanks to a blazing start by Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, followed by crucial middle-order contributions. Narine’s all-round brilliance stole the show. After his aggressive knock at the top, he spun a web around DC’s batters, picking 3/29, including the key wickets of Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs, and Faf du Plessis.
DC’s chase never found sustained momentum. The early blows were telling — Abishek Porel was dismissed off the second ball of the innings by Vaibhav Arora, and a casual run out by Narine sent KL Rahul packing. Reduced to 60/3 by the seventh over, the hosts relied on du Plessis and skipper Axar Patel to rebuild.
Du Plessis scored a solid 62 off 45, while Axar, fresh from a strong bowling spell of 2/27, delivered a cameo of 43 from just 23 balls. But once Axar was dismissed — chipping a quicker delivery straight to extra cover — the tide shifted. Stubbs fell to a clever offbreak from Narine, and du Plessis, under pressure to accelerate, mistimed a slog to deep midwicket.
Late-order resistance, including a brisk knock from youngster Vipraj Nigam, was not enough. DC ended on 190/9, falling 14 runs short.
KKR’s Explosive Start and DC’s Fightback
Having opted to bowl first, DC found themselves immediately under pressure on a truer, quicker surface compared to their last home game. Narine launched into Dushmantha Chameera in the second over, smashing 25 runs and setting the tone. Gurbaz and Narine rode their luck early but made it count, clearing the infield regularly and punishing anything full.
DC clawed back with spin. Axar’s double strike — dismissing the fluent Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer — slowed the flow. Kuldeep Yadav had an off day, but debutant leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam impressed, delivering a tight 18th over and dismissing Rinku Singh.
A late burst from Mitchell Starc (3/43) and a spectacular diving catch from Chameera helped DC restrict KKR to 36 runs in the final four overs. However, the damage was already done.
Despite the fightback, DC’s powerplay failures and middle-order collapse under spin pressure proved costly once again. If results elsewhere go against them, they could find themselves slipping out of playoff contention.
Match Summary:
KKR 204/9 in 20 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 44 off 32, Rinku Singh 36 off 25; M Starc 3/43)
beat
DC 190/9 in 20 overs (F du Plessis 62 off 45, A Patel 43 off 23; S Narine 3/29)
by 14 runs
