All-rounder Narine leads Kolkata to 14-run victory over Delhi

Sunil Narine put on a brilliant all-round show – scoring 27 off 16 balls and claiming, 3-29 with the ball, being the stand-in captain and effecting a crucial run-out - to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) edge Delhi Capitals (DC) by 14 runs and keep themselves in contention for a playoffs spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.

After KKR had their batters producing quick knocks at a great strike rate to post 204/9 on a pitch that was great for batting, DC threatened to chase down the total via a 76-run stand between vice-captain Faf du Plessis, who top-scored with 62, and skipper Axar Patel, who smashed 43 despite suffering a left-hand injury while fielding.

But Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, despite initial expensive spells, made decisive double strikes in the 14th and 18th overs respectively, as DC went from 136/3 to eventually finish at 190/9, to suffer their third defeat at their original home venue.

Apart from taking 3-29, Narine was also the stand-in captain due to Ajinkya Rahane’s hand injury and Venkatesh Iyer being subbed out and even ran out KL Rahul to ensure he had a memorable game with all-round contributions. His bowling partner Chakaravarthy took 2-39 as KKR were also supported by Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, and Andre Russell, taking a wicket each.

DC’s chase began on a bad note as Abishek Porel sliced to mid-off against left-arm spinner Anukul Roy, who didn’t allow batters to break free by mixing up his deliveries nicely. Du Plessis made the most of the pace from Harshit Rana by smacking him for three boundaries, though he lost Karun Nair, who was trapped lbw by a straight yorker from Vaibhav Arora for 15. After DC ended the power-play at 58/2, DC suffered a big blow when du Plessis stopped halfway and KL Rahul tried completing the quick single, but his late urgency didn’t help as he was caught just short of the crease by Narine’s direct hit from short fine leg.

Du Plessis continued to move forward by pulling and glancing Chakaravarthy for consecutive fours, before lofting him down the ground for six in a 16-run ninth over. Despite Axar picking boundaries via an injured left hand, including hitting two sixes off Narine, du Plessis got his fifty in 31 balls and then cut off a slower off-cutter from Harshit Rana to keep DC steady in the chase.

But Narine made a huge dent in DC’s chase with a double strike in the 14th over – he had Axar lobbing a quicker ball to cover, while Tristan Stubbs was castled through the gate with an off-break delivery. Narine dealt DC another big blow in his final over as du Plessis heaved to deep mid-wicket.

It was then Chakaravarthy’s turn to make a double strike in the 18th over – Ashutosh Sharma reverse-hit to backward point, while Mitchell Starc skied to the keeper. Vipraj Nigam kept the fight on for DC – lofting Chakaravarthy for six, before edging and lofting Rana for four and six respectively. He then smacked Russell for two boundaries via bottom-handed drives, before being castled by the all-rounder for 38, all but sealing the deal in KKR’s favour.

Previously, KKR began with a bang as Rahmanullah Gurbaz drilled Starc for boundaries through mid-off and cover-point. Narine took a liking to Dushmantha Chameera dishing out fuller balls and on pads to take him for two sixes and a four, with the one-handed maximum being the standout, as 25 runs came off the second over.

Gurbaz continued to make merry against Starc by getting two fours and a six behind square, with the steer past short third being a standout. But Starc eventually had the last laugh as Gurbaz edged a yorker behind to the keeper and fell for 26. Narine brought up KKR’s fastest fifty of the season by pulling Mukesh Kumar for four before Rahane dazzled under the night sky.

Against Starc’s experiments, Rahane was at his glorious best – pulling over square leg for six and flicking through mid-wicket for four. Against Mukesh, Rahane cashed on the width by punching and slicing through the off-side on consecutive balls, as KKR signed off from power-play at 79/1.

After that, DC made a mini comeback as Narine tried a quicker ball from leg-spinner Nigam, but was trapped lbw.

Indo-Asian News Service

Brief scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders 204/9 in 20 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 44, Rinku Singh 36; Mitchell Starc 3-42, Axar Patel 2-27) beat Delhi Capitals 190/9 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 62, Axar Patel 43; Sunil Narine 3-29, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-39) by 14 runs