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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) in a low-scoring contest at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing a paltry target of 128, KKR started well, with Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer adding 28 runs for the opening wicket. Iyer was sent back by Lalit Yadav for 14, buꦓt Gill stayed and kept on scoring runs.
Gill looked well set on 30, but a brilliant over by Kagiso Rabada ended his innings. Rahul Tripathi (9) and Eoin Morgan (0) lost their wickets in quick successions, and it looked that DC would make a come back. However, Sunil Narine, who shined with the ball, played a quick fire knock of 21 to make sure KKR crosses the finish line easily. Nitish Rana remained unbeaten on 36 ofꦬf 27 bal🦋ls as the Knight Riders won the game by three wickets.
Earlier, Delhi posted 127/9 on the board in their allotted 20 overs. Steve Smith, who replaced Prithvi Shaw in the final XI, played a crucial knock of 39 runs at the top. Captain Rishabh Pant contributed well with 39 off 36 and took his team’s total beyond 120.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan also chipped in with a valuable 24 off 20 balls. Shreyas Iyer (1), Shimron Hetmyer (4) and Lalit (0) all failed to score vital runs for their side.
For KKR, Narine bowled brilliantly and picked up two wickets for just 18 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Lockie Ferguson (2/10) and Venkatesh Iyer (2/29) also bagged two wickets each.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Huge result for . They have turned the heat on their mid-table challengers. It makes the a 💃virtual must-win game for the two teams
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha)
A gutsy show by ou🌄r batsmen sees us over the line in a low-scoring thriller in Sharjah! 💜💛
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders)
Su𝓡nil Narine’s day! Last few games making a strong case for KKR to retain him. Current value at 12.50 cr, Russell at 8.50 cr.
— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK)
in :
First 7 matches – 2 wins & 5 lose.
Next 4 matches – 3 wins & 1 lose.— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns)
Congrats
Not quite good enough today with the bat but 💜 but tried 💎well with the ball.
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh)
Sunil Narine has to be KKR's biggest match winner till date and one of the greatest IPL player.
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan)
KKR𝓀 have beaten DC by 3 wickets! A good innings from Nitish Rana of 36*
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA)
Sunil Narine against Kagiso Rabada – 2,6,4,6,1. He Smashed 19 runs in 5 Balls.
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh)
//twitter.com/Jethiya_lal/status/1442843680247853🔥061
Other batters struggling to score runs
Le Sunil Narine:
— Rahul Parida (@RahulParida__)
