Kolkata Knight Riders have managed a resounding victory against Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens. The home team has put in an all-round performance to win the game by 71 runs.
Having lost the toss, Kolkata were put into bat by Gautam Gambhir. The visitors got rid of Sunil Narine early with a fiery Trent Boult on the song. But Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn had taken the innings forward with a decent 55-run partnership.
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Nitish Rana had played to his potential, as he held Kolkata’s innings together with a very well made fifty.
Andre Russell was on another level with his sensational hitting. He made 41 runs in just 12 balls which pushed Kolkata to a very good 200/9 in their 20 overs.
Trent Boult was very impressive at the top, while spinner Rahul Tewatia managed to pick three wickets in his spell. Kolkata Knight Riders applied the spin ploy around Delhi batsmen. Delhi were all out for just 129 runs in 14.2 overs.
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Glenn Maxwell and Rishabh Pant were the lone fighters in the chase. Both of them made 43 and 47, respectively. The rest of the batsmen hardly showed any resistance to Kolkata bowlers before bundling out.
Young Shivam Mavi was very good with the ball. Spin trio Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav were on song, as they split seven wickets between them. The massive win meant, KKR is now in the second position with two wins after four games.
Speaking after the game, Gautam Gambhir hailed his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. The southpaw also praised Andre Russell for his extraordinary innings.
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“We have to give it to KKR; they played really well. One stage we thought they couldn’t get 170-175 but then getting to 200 was a good effort by them.
“We knew it was going to be a stiff chase as they have three quality spinners. I thought we tried our level best, but we couldn’t execute the plans well. Someone like Russell when he starts to take on the bowlers it’s difficult to contain him. We even tried bowling from round the wicket. We had different plans, but it was difficult to execute the plans. Lot of balls we bowled into his radar.
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Delhi skipper also believes his team needs to make the most of their home advantage. The team are yet to play five home games in this season.
Delhi Daredevils will next face Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore. Both teams are desperate for points, but the league is still in the premature phase.
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“It’s important for us to win the games at home, there are about 5 of them we’re playing at home. The next game is important for us if we can take a win. If we get a win in Bangalore, the confidence will be better. We still have ten games left,” Gambhir said.
