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228 seems to be a high enough total to be defended easily in a 20 over match. But not when the venue is Sharjah where last time 223 was chased down by Royals with 3 balls to spare. KKR too almost pulled off the heist with 31 needed off last two overs having scored 40 in the previous two overs. The duo of Morgan and Tripathi shared a 78 run stand in only 31 balls but Anrich Nortje got Morgan caught at deep square leg and Tripathi too was bowled in the last over to end Kolkata’s resistance.

Good start for DC

Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to chase given the dew factor and dimensions of Sharjah ground. Iyer stressed on the fact of not losing wickets in the power play to build on it later on and post big totals. DC, however, did lost a wicket in the power play but not before a 56 run stand for first wicket. Dhawan mistimed a sweep off Varun to get caught at square leg by Morgan for a 16-ball 26 that had two sixes off Narine. Shaw and Iyer continued in the same vein to forge a 73 run partnership in quick time. Shaw got to his fifty in 35 balls with some powerful flat batted shots like one over cover and another pull shot straight down. He eventually got out to his U-19 teammate Nagarkoti, caught at long on by Gill, another U-19 fellow from the World Cup winning team that he led. Shaw scored 66(41) adorned with 4 4s and 4 6s as well. Fall of wicket did not affect the run flow as Pant joined Iyer in the middle who was already timing the ball quite well.

Iyer guides DC to 228

Iyer took 26 balls to reach his half-century- fastest for him. He continued his charge from one end with several elegant hits to boundary. Pant and Iyer scored off every ball they faced till Pant got out off Russell for a 17 ball 38 that had four hits to the boundary and a six. This 72 runs partnership in mere 31 balls and the 20 run penultimate over by Varun as Iyer sent him all round the park, propelled DC to a massive total of 228. Iyer remained not out at 88 with 7 4s and 6 6s in 38 balls that he faced. DC could have got more runs had it not been for Russell’s brilliant last over as he conceded just 7 runs with four dot balls and the lucky wicket of Stoinis. While every other bowler gave away runs at more than 11 an over, Russell went for only 29, scalping two wickets in bargain.

KKR’s run chase

KKR run chase did not begin well as Narine failed to contribute yet again at the top. He was cleaned up by Nortje’s fast length ball for 3. Rana and Gill then took charge of the chase and took full advantage of the powerplay to take 59 off it. Introduction of Mishra applied brakes to the run flow as he conceded only two off first. Then he got Gill(28) out next over as he mistimed the sweep off a gentle leg spinner to be caught by Pant. Mishra however could not sustain the injury off an attempted return catch of Rana and had to retire after bowling 2 overs.

Middle order fails

Russell was promoted to bat at 4 to boost the run rate. This made Iyer to bring back his ace bowler Rabada to attack and he did not disappoint his captain. After hitting a four and a six off the over, Russell went for another meaty blow to a fast length ball only to edge it high in the sky for third man Nortje to complete a good catch. Rana at the other end continued his onslaught as he got to his fifty in 32 balls with 3 sixes and 4 fours. KKR received a big jolt in the 13th over as Harshal Patel got rid of Rana (58) and Karthik(6) off successive deliveries.

Morgan-Tripathi almost pull-off a heist

Kolkata needed 92 off last 5 which seemed quite impossible but the aggressive partnership of Morgan and Tripathi gave them some hope. Thanks to three sixes from Tripathi, the 17th over of Stoinis went for 24 while Morgan’s three sixes off Rabada brought 23 runs from the 18th over. With 31 needed in last two, the target looked within reach for KKR, however Nortje bowled a 5-run penultimate over with the huge wicket of Morgan(44 off 18 with 5 6s). KKR could not get the 26 off last over as Tripathi was castled off a yorker by Stoinis. Kolkata Knight Riders were 18 short of Delhi Capitals’ total. Nortje was pick of the bowlers for DC with 3/33 while Harshal Patel finished with 2/34.

Anrich Nortje was the best bowler for DC taking 3 wkts for 33 runs. Source: @IPL

Shreyas Iyer who scored a brisk 88 and then marshalled his troops quite well while defending, was adjudged Man of the Match. This win took DC to the top of the table with 3 wins out of four played.

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