Kagiso Rabada bowled a splendid super over which handed Delhi Capitals their 2nd victory of the tournament in the form of a Super over. Requiring 11 of the super over, KKR managed to score just 7 runs. Earlier in the day, KKR posted 185 in their 20 overs courtesy a great partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell. Prithvi Shaw was the top scorer for Delhi Capitals as he missed out on a century by a run.
It was Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer who won the toss and opted to field. Debutant Nikhil Naik came out to open the innings with Chris Lynn. He had a forgettable outing in his debut. He missed a few and was eventually dismissed by Sandeep Lamichanne. Chris Lynn on the other had played some good shots.
Kolkata Knight Riders lost a cluster of wickets in the middle overs which pegged them back. Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana gave away their wickets in quick succession which put KKR under severe pressure. The wicket of Shubhman Gill added to the woes as KKR were reduced to 61/5.
From there on it was a complete turnaround by Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell. The Windies all-rounder looked in ominous touch and carried on from where he left in the last two matches. Dinesh Karthik, on the other hand, played perfect innings and struck the boundaries whenever the opportunity was there.
He smashed a sensational 62 of 28 deliveries which were studded with 4 fours and 6 sixes. Dinesh Karthik also scored a half-century and shared a stand of 94 runs with Russell. Eventually, KKR finished on 185/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Delhi Capitals began pretty well with openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan looking in good touch. Dhawan was dismissed after a partnership of 27. Skipper Shreyas Iyer came out in the middle and shared a brilliant stand of 89 runs with Prithvi Shaw. Shreays was dismissed by Andre Russell. Prithvi Shaw looked in ominous touch and played some exceptional shots.
He played all around during his knock of 99 which was studded with 12 fours and 3 sixes. Prithvi was dismissed just one short of a well deserved century. Kuldeep Yadav who conceded 33 runs in his first two overs came back strongly to help KKR tie the match. The left-arm chinaman bowler defended 6 runs in the last over to take the match to the Super Over.
This is what Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer said at the post-match presentation
Definitely a long day at the office. We didn’t expect it to go that deep, expecting us to finish it with an over to spare; but credit must go to Kuldeep Yadav for that over. You can’t control Andre Russell when he gets going. Even his mistimes go for sixes and even the bowlers find it tough to plan against him when things just don’t go to plan.
All our batters decided that whoever gets going should take the side home, and Prithvi Shaw did that for us. Hopefully, he can continue doing it for us. I am really happy that all of us are taking the responsibility; really happy with myself as well because I refused to let the pressure come onto me after a few dots. Kagiso and I had a chat before the super over and he told me that he would go for yorkers all through, first, second, third, every ball. It takes some special skill to execute that.