KKR vs DC Man of the Match: The all-rounder from Kolkata Knight Riders won the match award for performing across divisions.
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During the 41st match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in Sharjah, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets. In what is their fifth victory of this season, they have now jumped to the fourth position on the points table.
After Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and chose to field, his bowlers did exceptionally well to restrict Capitals to 127/9 in 20 overs. Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the seventh over, DC captain Rishabh Pant top-scored for his team with his 39 (36) comprising of three fours.
With bowling figures of 2-0-10-2, KKR pacer Lockie Ferguson was the pick of their bowlers dismissing Capitals opening batters Shikhar Dhawan (24) and Steven Smith (39). Apart from Ferguson, Kolkata all-rounders Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer also picked a couple of wickets each at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
KKR vs DC Man of the Match
A 128-run chase didn’t result in being a smooth one for Knight Riders as losing wickets at regular intervals in the absence of all-rounder Andre Russell kept the opposition in the match.
Batting at No. 4, Nitish Rana top-scored for Kolkata with his 36* (27) comprising of two fours and two sixes played a titular role in guiding his team past the victory line.
However, it was Narine’s 10-ball 21 comprising of a four and two sixes which ended up being a game-changer for Morgan and his men. Narine, who had dismissed Shreyas Iyer (1) and Lalit Yadav (0) in the first innings, was declared the ‘Man of the Match’ today.
“Watching a few games here, knew there’s a bit of spin here. Didn’t want to get too full. I’ve been through a lot. Need to give credit to bowling coach [Kyle Mills], that’s a plus and that’s been key for me to come back.
“Batting in the middle-order is challenging. Its pleasing to see hardwork paying off after a long time. I think we are playing some good cricket. A few niggles, but that said we are playing good cricket,” Narine was quoted as saying by Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.
