If you caught the Kolkata vs Delhi match on Tuesday, you know it wasn’t short on drama. Kolkata Knight Riders came out on top with a tight 14-run win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, all thanks to some clever spin from Sunil Narine and an early batting blitz.
Batting first, KKR managed a solid 204 for 9. It wasn’t smooth all the way—great start, a bit of a wobble in the middle, and then a gritty push at the end. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Narine came out swinging and racked up 33 runs in just two overs. Narine smacked 27 off 16, while Gurbaz made a quick 26 before Mitchell Starc got the better of him.
Delhi slowed things down with spin. Vipraj Nigam trapped Narine, and Axar Patel got Rahane, halting Kolkata’s momentum. Still, KKR fought back in the death overs to post a total that gave their bowlers something to work with.
Now let’s talk about the chase. Delhi were chasing 205, but things didn’t go to plan. Anukul Roy got them off to a rough start by removing Abishek Porel early. Vaibhav Arora then got Karun Nair, and soon after, KL Rahul was run out, thanks to Narine’s sharp fielding.
Faf du Plessis tried to turn things around. He hit 62 off 45 balls, keeping Delhi in the game. Axar Patel also chipped in with a cracking 43 off just 23 balls. Together, they stitched a 76-run partnership and looked like they might just pull it off.
But then came the game-changer—Sunil Narine. In the 14th over, he got rid of both Axar and Tristan Stubbs. In his very next over, he dismissed Faf, who was Delhi’s last big hope. After that, it was all downhill for the Capitals. They kept losing wickets and just couldn’t find the big hits they needed in the final overs.
So, KKR walk away with two crucial points, and Delhi are left to rethink their middle-order strategy. With the tournament heating up, every game is becoming a pressure-cooker.
