Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket PlayersIPL 2020: Shreyas Iyer stars as Delhi Capitals defeat Kolkata Knight Riders in another high-scoring match at Sharjah
IPL 2020: Delhi Capitals beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs in Indian Premier League match No. 16 at the Sharjah Cricket Ground. Batting first, DC posted 228 for 4 batting first, riding on Shreyas Iyer’s 88. In reply, KKR scored 210 for 8.
Prefer HTon Google
It was supposed to be a Saturday evening six-hitting contest in Sharjah masquerading as a T20 game. There were 28 hits in the game all right but if Delhi Capitals (DC) notched up an 18-run win and moved to the top of the table, it was because Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) reply floundered in the middle after a flourish in the beginning and end.
It was ironic that Andre Russell conceded only seven in the last over and took a wicket. Ironic because despite that excellent effort, DC set KKR a record chase of 229. On a wicket that glistened under the lights, Prithvi Shaw started the sixes carnage after KKR put them in and though Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmeyer all hit over-boundaries, no one came close to DC skipper Shreyas Iyer who hit six of them on way to a masterly 88 off 38 balls that also included seven boundaries.
IPL 2020, KKR vs DC full highlights
After another Sunil Narine failure, KKR took up the challenge through Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill and even bettered DC’s best in the power play in IPL 13 by getting to 59/1, two more than their rivals. But after Gill fell, they lost three wickets for five runs and Russell before that, leaving Eoin Morgan with too much to do though he and Rahul Tripathi sure did take KKR close. Three sixes of Kagiso Rabada by Morgan in an over the South African went for 23 revived what looked like a lost cause. KKR scored 47 runs in the 17th and 18th overs but then Morgan fell after an 18-ball 44 (1x4; 5x6) and that was that.
KKR’s skipper Dinesh Karthik’s poor run continued but it was different kind of evening for Iyer. He and Shaw used the crease well, often staying deep or moving inside the line to power shots through the off-side. Shaw hit Pat Cummins for the innings first six, the pull soaring into the night sky; Dhawan then swung into Narine literally and otherwise but fell trying a similar shot to one wider by Varun Chakravarthy. In walked Iyer for what was the beginning of a beautiful partnership that lasted 73 runs with the DC skipper content to play in his partner’s shadow before switching gears.
Moving inside to hit Kamlesh Nagarkoti for a six over the bowler could be Shaw’s shot of the night. Or it could be the six he hit over cover. Running well between wickets, Iyer too scored all around the ground, his flicks fetching sixes on a ground described by Steve Smith as a postage stamp. There was also a scorching drive that bisected cover and mid-off showing why Shane Warne had urged for more grass on the outfield.
In fifth gear already, the DC innings accelerated further during Iyer and Pant’s joint-venture. They added 72 runs, the first 52 coming in 26 deliveries. Pant (38 off 17 balls) fell in the second last ball of the 18th over and when Marcus Stoinis was dismissed, Iyer suddenly found himself at the non-striker’s end in the last over which meant he missed out on a century. The score of 228/4 was enough for DC but with all teams scoring over 200 at this venue so far shows why bowlers don’t have fond memories of this venue.
