IPL 2018: KKR drown sloppy DD by 71 runs

Sunil Narine finished with 3 for 18 AFP

In match 13 of VIVO IPL 2018, Kolkata Knight Riders made their former skipper Gautam Gambhir's homecoming a forgettable affair. Gambhir-led Delhi Daredevils (DD) were sloppy with their batting efforts in pursuit of 201. No one apart from Rishabh Pant and Glenn Maxwell reached double-digits. With their second win in the current edition, KKR climb to the second spot.

Chasing a big score once again, DD counted on their in-form openers, Jason Roy and Gambhir. Despite being familiar to the surface at Eden Gardens, Gambhir couldn't add much to the scoreboard. On the other hand, Roy was stumped beautifully off Piyush Chawla. It was a smart move by Dinesh Karthik to start with Chawla, backed by the medium pace of Andre Russell. In short, he didn't allow much pace to the batsmen.

DD's batting needed a quick revamp to stay in the hunt. Pant looked in his elements after a slightly luck start. He hammered the balls with full force, often bringing the bottom hand into play. He found an able partner in Maxwell; together, the duo added 62 for the fourth wicket. DD kept themselves in the chase by running alongside the required run rate, but needless strokeplay hurt them.

The slide began once Pant fell for 43. Shreyas Iyer had already fallen courtesy a brilliant ploy by Karthik. The KKR skipper had a slip for Iyer, and he was neatly taken by Nitish Rana. Maxwell (47) shifted gears after losing Pant. There wasn't too much of risk required but the big-hitter fancied himself against Kuldeep Yadav. Despite towing Kuldeep for a few sixes, Maxwell perished in a bid for another glory shot. Kuldeep's strategy of dropping the ball short worked, and the ball got less elevation.

Following Maxwell's wicket, DD fell away like ninepins. From 97 for 4 they were bowled out for 129 in 14.2 overs. Sunil Narine took 3 for 18 to clinch the Purple Cap. He also became the first overseas spinner to 100 IPL wickets. What was most disappointing was their minimal application by the DD batsmen to stay in the middle. The tail showed no intention of playing out the overs either.

Earlier, KKR rode on a combined batting effort to post 200 for 9. Nitish Rana's sublime 59, Russell's blitzkrieg 41 and other top order contributions propelled them to a challenging total. Trent Boult returned with two scalps, whereas Rahul Tewatia bowled a magnificent last over, conceding 1 run and taking 3 wickets. However, nothing worked in the end for DD. They continue to languish at the seventh spot in points table.

Brief scores

Kolkata Knight Riders 200 for 9 in 20 overs (Chris Lynn 31, Robin Uthappa 35, Nitish Rana 59, Andre Russell 41; Rahul Tewatia 3 for 18, Trent Boult 2 for 29, Chris Morris 2 for 41) beat Delhi Daredevils 129 in 14.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 43, Glenn Maxwell 47; Sunil Narine 3 for 18, Kuldeep Yadav 3 for 32) by 71 runs.