In the 28th match of the the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Delhi Capitals (DC) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by four wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
The David Warner-led side won the toss and elected to bowl first. It was a wise choice as the team were bowling well in the previous few games as well. Even today, the home side restricted KKR for a below par score of just 127 runs. The visitors had no answer for Ishant Sharma‘s epic comeback, Axar Patel‘s consistency and Anrich Nortje‘s yorkers.
In the chase, DC began their inning on a high note as Warner (57) once again showcased his rich form. The Australian batter scored his fourth half-century of the season which included massive 11 fours. Prithvi Shaw (13) also managed to get into double digits bit couldn’t bat much longer. Once again the batters tumbled in a low scoring affair but somehow inform player Axar Patel (19*) had the belief to take the team through. While Manish Pandey (21) also scored few runs in the middle order, it was Axar who maintained his cool and refused give up. On a pitch where almost every batter struggled, the southpaw batter took his team to their first win of the season.
While batting first, KKR had a shaky start, losing three wickets in the powerplay. Jason Roy (43) was the lone warrior with the bat in the first few overs. Towards the end, Andre Russell (38*) contributed valuable runs to take team to a respectable total. Russell smashed three sixes in the final over which later helped KKR bowlers to defend something.
With the ball in the first innings, Delhi Capitals showed their best form as the team bundled KKR for a low score. Ishant Sharma grabbed two wickets along side Nortje, Axar and Kuldeep Yadav. Mukesh Kumar also took one wicket.
While defending, KKR bowled 16 overs with spinners and tried their best to defend this low score. Varun Chakaravarthy, Anukul Roy and Nitish Rana plucked two wickets each. Some solid display of spin helped KKR take the game till the final over of the match.
Ishant Sharma was adjudged Player of the Match for his dynamic bowling show. Following this win, DC, though still stand last in the points tally, have finally registered their first two points.
Scorecard:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 127/10, Overs 20, Jason Roy 43, Kuldeep Yadav 2/15
Delhi Capitals: 128/6, Overs 19.2, David Warner 57, Varun Chakaravarthy 2/16