New Delhi:
Andre Russell put in yet another display of power-hitting in the death overs, blasting 62 off 28 balls to help Kolkata Knight Riders reach 185/8. In response, Prithvi Shaw and his 89-run stand with skipper Shreyas Iyer put Delhi Capitals on course for a win. However, Russell gave Kolkata Knight Riders a slight opening with the wicket of Iyer. Shaw was looking good for a century but on 99, he top-edged a short-ball from Ferguson and was caught by Dinesh Karthik. With Delhi Capitals needing six off the last over, Kuldeep Yadav missed a run-out chance and with two runs needed off one ball, Colin Ingram was run-out attempting the second and the match entered the super over at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday.
Prasidh Krishna bowled the super over for Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals sent in Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. The Delhi Capitals skipper got a boundary in the second ball but Krishna roared back by having Iyer caught by Piyush Chawla. The youngster held his nerve and Delhi Capitals managed 10 runs in the super over. Kolkata Knight Riders sent in Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik and Kagiso Rabada was given the task of bowling the super over for the Delhi Capitals. The hosts started disastrously when Russell flicked a full toss to deep square leg where none of the Delhi Capitals fielders moved. However, Rabada roared back by dismissing Russell with a yorker. Dinesh Karthik paddle swept a full toss to fine leg but Hanuma Vihari put in a fine stop and Rabada sealed the deal by helping Delhi Capitals win the super over by three runs and inflict Kolkata Knight Riders their first defeat in IPL 2019.
At the half-way stage, Russell remarked, “I think we can defend this total. At one point we were thinking of 150 but the partnership between me and Dinesh Karthik has helped us post 185.†Momentum was definitely with Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals needed a good start. Shikhar Dhawan got going with a couple of boundaries and a six but in the quest for aggression, the left-hander miscued the lofted shot to mid-off where Russell took the catch. Iyer joined Shaw and the skipper found the initial going tough but Shaw broke the shackles when he targeted Russell, first by hammering a lofted shot over mid-off and clobbering a short ball into the stands at deep midwicket.
Iyer broke the shackles by lofting Kuldeep Yadav straight down the ground but Shaw kept the scoreboard ticking by hitting yet another six this time off Kuldeep. The confidence shown by Shaw rubbed off on Iyer, who pulled Lockie Ferguson to deep midwicket and deposited Kuldeep’s googly into the deep midwicket stands. Shaw notched up his fifty in grand style by smashing a six and a four off Kuldeep and the game was evenly poised.
Shaw's sheer brilliance
The 12th over of the innings bowled by Russell witnessed plenty of action. After Shaw slammed a boundary off Russell, Iyer pulled a short ball to deep midwicket only for Shubman Gill to spill the chance. However, he earned redemption two balls later by taking a high catch really close to the ropes. Replays showed that Gill’s foot was inches inside the line when he took the catch and the partnership was broken. With 34 needed off 24 balls, Shaw and Rishabh Pant survived some nervy moments, including a run-out attempt. The game was sealed in the 17th over when Shaw smashed three boundaries off Prasidh Krishna. Shaw looked set for a century but on 99, he top-edged a short ball from Lockie Ferguson to be caught by Dinesh Karthik on 99.
With six runs needed off the last over, Kuldeep Yadav missed a run-out chance and with Delhi Capitals needing two runs off the last ball, Colin Ingram mistimed the sweep and was run-out in an attempt to take the second as the match headed into the super over, the first of IPL 2019 which was won by Delhi Capitals.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals chose to bowl and they made a couple of changes, bringing in Sandeep Lamichhane, Chris Morris, Harshal Patel and Hanuma Vihari while Kolkata Knight Riders replaced Sunil Narine, who was injured with Nikhil Naik. Naik was promoted to open with Lynn and the batsman struggled to cope with Lamichhane as he was trapped LBW for 7. Chris Lynn struck some crisp boundaries but Harshal Patel struck at the other end, removing Robin Uthappa for 11. Lynn’s knock of 20 was ended when he gloved a short ball from Kagiso Rabada to be brilliantly caught by Pant diving to his left one-handed.
Karthik showed his intent by hitting a boundary and a six but Kolkata Knight Riders continued to sink further with Nitish Rana (4) and Gill (4) falling cheaply.
Russell madness
Russell showed his intentions by muscling Amit Mishra for a six over long-off. Kolkata Knight Riders knew momentum was with them when the West Indies all-rounder decided to target Sandeep Lamichhane, the Nepal legspinner who had figures of 3-0-12-1 heading into his final over. After a boundary by Dinesh Karthik, Russell mauled Lamichhane over deep midwicket and another one straight down the ground for another massive six.
The match had swung decisively in Kolkata Knight Riders’ favour and Russell survived a scary moment when a beamer from Harshal Patel hit him flush on the left shoulder which required treatment. Harshal had inflicted some physical pain, but Russell decided to inflict some mental pain. A streaky inside-edge off Morris for a four to fine leg was followed with another huge six straight down the ground. Harshal came into the attack for the 16th over and on the last two balls, Russell blasted him straight down the ground, one 98 meters and one close to 100 meters to dent Delhi Capitals severely.
When Russell pulled Kagiso Rabada for a four to deep midwicket, Russell had notched a fifty off just 23 balls. At the other end, Karthik matched him for aggression and notched up a fifty off 35 balls by slog sweeping Amit Mishra to the deep square leg fence. The partnership between Russell and Karthik had revived Kolkata Knight Riders, but at the end of the day, they withstood a special knock from Shaw and dragged the match into the super over. However, Delhi Capitals managed to hold their own in their own backyard, but only just.
