Kolkata Knight Riders register a 14-run victory against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The win takes them to 9 points in the iPL 2025 points table as their playoff remain stay alive with a much needed away win.
Chasing a challenging 205, it was KKR that got the early brajthrough in the 2nd innings courtesy of Anukul Roy who dismissed Abishek Porel at just 4 on the night. While the DC top order seemed to stumble in the beginning, it was Faf du Plessis' valiant start to the chase that got the crowd going again. However, his fiery 62 off 45 eventually went in vain as KKR bowlers got on top with regular wickets in the middle.
Axar's (43) 76-run partnership with du Plessis did give the hosts some glimmer of hope but it was taken away with wickets at regular intervals on the night.
Sunil Narine led the bowling line-up with 3 scalps on the night while the rest of the bowlers featuring Varun Chakaravarthy getting 2 wickets followed by Anukul and Vaibhav who got themselves a wicket each as well.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) posted a competitive 204/9 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in their IPL clash on Tuesday, despite a powerful start that fizzled out in the middle overs. With three defeats in their last five outings, KKR needed momentum, which they found early through Sunil Narine (27) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (26). The pair put together the team’s best opening partnership of the season—48 runs in just 17 balls—after DC captain Axar Patel (2/27) chose to bowl first.
Narine launched a fierce assault on Dushmantha Chameera, plundering 25 runs in one over. Gurbaz followed suit before falling to Mitchell Starc. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (26) kept the momentum going, guiding KKR to 79/1 by the end of the powerplay.
However, DC spinners turned the tide in the middle overs. Vipraj Nigam and Axar Patel struck in quick succession, dismissing Narine, Rahane, and Venkatesh Iyer. Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44) and Rinku Singh (36) revived KKR’s innings with a 61-run stand, but their dismissals halted the momentum again. Andre Russell added a late flourish, but a dramatic final over from Starc, including two wickets in three balls, curtailed KKR’s charge in the death overs.