Kuldeep Yadav produced a scintillating performance against his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, as he returned figures of 4/34 in four overs – including a three-wicket final over where he dismissed Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, and Umesh Yadav as Delhi Capitals defeated the side by 44 runs. The left-arm chinaman spinner had eight seasons with the Knight Riders before being released by the franchise last year; he had played in only 14 matches for the KKR across the past three seasons, and was forced to miss the entire previous edition with injury.
Yadav took his first wicket in Shreyas Iyer – the former Delhi Capitals skipper who is now leading KKR – just as he was looking dangerous in the high-scoring run-chase. The bowler removed Iyer on 54 and the dismissal eventually led to Knight Riders' batting collapse.
Here's how fans reacted as Kuldeep produced a stunning performance against KKR:
Earlier, collective knocks by David Warner, Prithvi Shaw and a quick 29* by Shardul Thakur guided Delhi Capitals to 215/5 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, collective knocks by David Warner, Prithvi Shaw and a quick 29* by Shardul Thakur guided Delhi Capitals to 215/5 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium.
{{/usCountry}}Put to bat first, Delhi got off to a great start as their openers gathered 58 runs in the powerplay. Warner and Shaw smashed KKR bowlers all around the ground, with the pair stitching up the partnership of 68 runs in the 6th overs of the innings. KKR bowlers struggled in front of DC batters as Shaw notched up his half-century in 27 balls.
Towards the end of DC's innings, Axar Patel and Warner joined hands and tried to get quick runs but the well-set Warner was dismissed by Umesh Yadav after scoring 61 runs. The new batters Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur, the, produced a terrific power-hitting performance against KKR bowlers and gathered 23 runs in the 19th over. The duo took their side a total of 215/5 at the end of the first innings.