Bowlers put in an impressive display to grab a crucial win for Kolkata against Delhi at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Chasing 128, Kolkata lost seven wickets but wrapped up the match with ten balls remaining. The two-time winners remain fourth in the points table despite Mumbai, too, picking up their fifth victory win this season. Delhi would have been disappointed that their four-game winning run came to an end. However, they still hold a four-point lead over second-placed Bangalore and are one win away from confirming a place in the playoffs.
Sunil Narine showcased his all-round abilities in the three-wicket win. He took two wickets and made a crucial 10-ball 21. Lockie Ferguson and Venkatesh Iyer, too, clinched two wickets each. It was Nitish Rana who steered Kolkata to victory with an unbeaten 36. For Delhi, Avesh Khan bagged a three-wicket haul, while Steven Smith and Rishabh Pant were the bright sparks in the batting department.
New opening pair
An injury for Prithvi Shaw paved the way for Smith to make his first appearance for Delhi in the UAE leg. Kolkata, too, made changes as Tim Southee and Sandeep Warrier replaced Andre Russell, who suffered a hamstring injury in the last match, and Prasidh Krishna. Delhi, put in to bat by Eoin Morgan, was off to a flier. Dhawan hit five fours in the opening four overs of the match. He moved to 23 in 16 balls.
Ferguson provided the opening breakthrough after Dhawan slashed the ball to Iyer at cover-point. Eight balls later, Delhi lost their second wicket as Narine cleaned up Shreyas Iyer for 1. Suddenly, Delhi found themselves in trouble. Smith and Pant had to resort to singles, and the run rate took a dip. The Aussie batsman struck back-to-back fours off Varun Chakravarthy to help Rajasthan move to 64/2 at the halfway point of the innings.
A batting collapse
Ferguson removed Smith in the 13th over, grabbing his second scalp in the match. The 32-year-old’s dismissal triggered a collapse as Delhi lost the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, and Axar Patel in the space of a few balls. From 77/3, Delhi went to 92/6. Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin stitched together 28 runs for the eighth wicket and posted 127/9 in 20 overs.
Only three Delhi batsmen reached double-digit scores. Hetmyer returned to the pavilion for 4, while Lalit and Axar departed without scoring. Pant and Ashwin, who both dismissed in the 20th over, managed to add 17 runs from the last two overs. None of the batters managed to hit a six.
Double blow
Iyer made a frantic start with two boundaries in Anrich Nortje’s opening over. Shubman Gill, at the other end, came down the track to Axar and sent the ball into the stands. The duo looked like they could make light work of the run chase. But Lalit ended the opening stand as he clean bowled Iyer for 14.
New man Tripathi brought up his first runs by hitting a six to deep square leg. In the penultimate ball of the powerplay, Tripathi chipped the ball to Smith at mid-off. The scorecard read 44/2 after six overs. Kolkata found themselves in trouble when Gill and Morgan returned to the dressing room in the space of three balls. Gill holed out to the former Delhi captain at long on for 30. Meanwhile, Ashwin found an outside edge of the England white-ball skipper, and Lalit took the catch at first slip. Kolkata needed 59 runs from 48 balls with Rana and Dinesh Karthik in the middle.
The 20-run over
Pant threw the ball to Lalit, who picked up the wicket of Iyer. However, Rana took the 24-year-old to the cleaners twice, and Karthik got a four off the fifth ball. Kolkata amassed 20 runs from six balls, and it turned out to be the game-changing over. The required rate slipped below six.
Despite losing a flurry of wickets, Kolkata chased down the target in the 19th over. Narine, who came to the crease after Karthik’s departure, made a mess of Kagiso Rabada’s bowling figures. The West Indies all-rounder smashed two sixes and a four. Narine and Southee fell in quick succession. Rana kept his cool and saw his team home. Kolkata will play Punjab on Friday, while Delhi face Mumbai in the afternoon fixture on Saturday.
Delhi 127/9 in 20 overs (S Smith 39, R Pant 39; S Narine 2/18, L Ferguson 2/10, V Iyer 2/29)
Kolkata 130/7 in 18.2 overs (N Rana 36*, S Gill 30; A Khan 3/13, R Ashwin 1/24)
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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