IPL 2020: KKR Vs DC – Chakravarthy Dazzles With 5-Wicket As KKR Pummel DC By 59 Runs

Abu Dhabi: Spinner Varun Chakravarthy picked up a five-wicket haul and became the first player to do so in 42nd match of the IPL 2020 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by 59 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Saturday.

DC won the toss and opted to bowl first against KKR here at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. After getting the batting invitation, KKR sent Rana along with Shubman Gill to open the innings. But KKR lost the wickets of Gill and Rahul Tripathi in the powerplay, both returning to the pavilion off Norje’s balls. The stormy 115-run partnership between Nitish Rana (81 off 53 balls) and all-rounder Sunil Narine (64 off 32 balls) to help Kolkata Knight Riders stage a stunning comeback. For Delhi Capitals, Enrique Nortje and Kagiso Rabada took two wickets each, while R Ashwin proved to be the most expensive who took 45 runs in three overs. Marcus Stoinis got two wickets in the final two balls of the innings, taking 2 for 41 in four overs by restricting KKR 194 for 6 in 20 overs.

Delhi Capitals in response got off to a poor start, losing opener Ajinkya Rahane in the first delivery of their chase. On the other hand Cummins gave a perfect start for KKR, dismissing both the openers Ajinkya Rahane (0) and Shikhar Dhawan (6) in his first two overs. Skipper Sheryas Iyer was the top-scorer for DC with 47 off 38 balls as he, along with Rishabh Pant (27 off 33 balls). The team then endured a middle-order collapse, with Chakravarthy (5/20) and Pat Cummins (3/17) gave the Delhi Capitals batsmen a torrid time to restrict them to 135 for 9 in 20 overs.

With this win, KKR’s team has increased to 12 points and has become even stronger at number four in the points table. On the other hand, Delhi is in second place with 14 points. The win gives KKR a boost to their net run rate as they look to fend off challenges from SunRisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals below them in the race for the final playoff spot.