IPL 2021: Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer steal the show as Delhi Capitals’ winning streak breaks

IPL 2021: Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer steal the show as Delhi Capitals’ winning streak breaks

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) continue their domination during the second phase of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This time around, the Knight Riders defeated the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals who were on a four-match winning streak in the T20 Championship. 

The high-voltage match between Capitals and the Knight Riders saw the coin flipping in the favor of Eoin Morgan. Put to bat first, Delhi delivered an underwhelming performance with the willow. The batters looked out of touch as they lost their wickets cheaply. 

Steve Smith, who was included in the playing XI as a replacement for injured Prithvi Shaw, showed good intent as he added 39 runs to the scoreboard. However, the former Australian skipper failed to convert his innings into a match-defining knock as he lost his wicket to Lockie Ferguson.

Kolkata Knight Riders produce a brilliant bowling effort against Delhi Capitals

A similar case was with the skipper Rishabh Pant too. just like Smith, Pant also smashed 39 runs but he couldn’t convert his knock into something substantial. For Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, and Venkatesh Iyer picked two wickets each as DC ended up with just 127 runs in Sharjah.  

Chasing 128, the Knight Riders completed the target without much difficulty. The opening batter Shubman Gill hammered 30 runs while Nitish Rana also returned with a sublime knock of 36. The exploits by the two batters resulted in KKR completing the target within 18.2 overs. 

Delhi’s bowling unit put up a good fight but 127 was too low of a target to defend on a track like Sharjah. Though KKR scripted a victory by three wickets, there was no impact on the points table. KKR retained their fourth position while DC is also sitting at second place. 

Also Read: Watch: Steve Smith involved in a bizarre incident against KKR; loses his wicket after getting hit on the inner thigh