Delhi Capitals' plan to target Kolkata Knight Riders' two main spinners backfired. They lost by 14 runs in Match 48 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. It was their fourth defeat in 10 matches, and they remained in fourth position in the points table.
“Our plan from the start was to target their two main spinners (during the chase), and we did that. Unfortunately, there were some instances where we missed out on the right shot selection, and that can happen,”
Delhi Capitals' young all-rounder Vipraj Nigam said
Delhi wanted to target KKR's main spinners, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, but the duo turned the tables by sharing five wickets between them. Narine bagged 3-29 while Chakravarthy claimed 2-39 and hastened Delhi's defeat.
After being put into bat, KKR scored 204/9 in 20 overs, riding on 44 by Angkrish Raghuvanshi (3x4, 2x6) and a 25-ball 36 by Rinku Singh. Narine (27) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (26) gave a decent start while skipper Ajinkya Rahane contributed 25 before he got injured and had to walk out of the field, handing the captaincy to Sunil Narine.
In reply, Delhi Capitals managed to get to 190/9. Faf du Plessis (62 off 45), skipper Axar Patel (43 off 23), and Vipraj Nigam (38 off 19) put up an impressive show with the bat, but the side couldn’t get over the line.
While Narine led the charge for KKR with an all-round show, the turning point was the run-out of their most successful batter so far, K.L Rahul, who was found short of the crease on video referral as Faf du Plessis stopped at the halfway mark, leaving Rahul with no other option but to continue with the run. Narine caught him short with a direct hit. Vipraj Nigam hammered a 19-ball 38 in a late charge, but that was not enough.
"The way we bowled in the powerplay, I thought we gave 15-20 too many. In the chase, there were some miscalculations and soft dismissals. The way we restricted them after the power-play was good. The way we batted, even if two or three batters did well, we lost by very little. When you lose close matches, you know you have to be calm in the middle. When Vipraj was scoring runs, we had hopes. If Ashutosh would have stayed, it would have helped. Luck sometimes works in your favour and sometimes against you," he added.
"When Sunil came into bowl and picked up two wickets, and when they lost three wickets in the middle, I thought that was the game for us. We felt we were short. Sunil bowled well, with good support from Russell, and Roy bowled well. He has been doing well for us, though let's back him," said KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who said the injury he suffered was not serious enough and that he will be back for the next match.
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.