Delhi Capitals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets to register their first win of the IPL season on Thursday.
Skipper David Warner found his perfect hitting arc after Ishant Sharma rolled back the years but even then Delhi Capitals stuttered badly in a modest chase before beating Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets on Thursday to stay afloat in this edition of the IPL. With their backs to the wall after five defeats on the trot, the DC bowling line-up collectively came to the party as KKR managed only 127 on a spicy deck which aided both pacers and spinners alike. Warner, DC’s best batter this season, was struggling with his strike-rate in earlier games but on Thursday, he smashed 57 off 41 with the target being reached with four balls to spare.
The DC batting, save Warner looked wobbly once again but a below-par score perhaps saved the day for the home team as the ball started gripping in the second half of the chase making it difficult for strokeplay. Axar Patel (19 not out off 22 balls) despite a groin strain managed to take his team past the finishing line.
DC’s victory was about two veterans winning the Powerplay contest for their team.
The 34-year-old Ishant (2/19 in 4 overs), who is well past his prime, got his first opportunity and used his oodles of experience to peg back KKR inside the ‘Bowling Powerplay’.
The 36-year-old Warner then showed his destructive avatar hitting as many as 10 boundaries in the ‘Batting Powerplay’ to kill the contest and earn his team’s first win of the competition.
The manner in which he swept, the two KKR spinners Sunil Narine and Anukul Roy hardly had any answers. In all, he hit 11 boundaries.
The win doesn’t alter DC’s standing in the points table as they remain last but the victory does give them hope for a turnaround.
Once Warner won a good toss and opted to field, Ishant, playing his first IPL match in over two seasons, was bang on target with 13 dot balls and hitting those immaculate three-quarter lengths, just like yesterday.
In rhythm, he still hits 140 clicks but once he was done with his four overs, he literally collapsed in the dug-out chair as Prithvi Shaw came in as ‘Impact Player’.
His India days are well over and Ishant certainly would like to remain an ‘IPL to IPL’ player till his body allows him to take rigours of top flight cricket.
Mukesh Kumar (1/34 in 4 overs) also bowled well in the Powerplay while Axar (2/13 in 3 overs), who hasn’t enjoyed favourable match-ups against left-handers, removed the dangerous Rinku Singh as KKR lost wickets in clumps.
If Ishant, Mukesh and Axar were brilliant in the front 10, Kuldeep Yadav (2/15 in 3 overs), who got Jason Roy (43 off 39 balls), was brilliant as he created doubts in the minds of the batters by varying his pace.