At a Glance
- Allen scores 100* as KKR beat DC by eight wickets
- KKR win four in a row, leapfrog DC to seventh on the table
- KKR spinners combine to restrict Delhi to 142-8
The Kolkata Knight Riders spinners and Finn Allen stormed through the Delhi Capitals as KKR beat DC by eight wickets in Delhi on Friday. Allen finally found form in the ongoing IPL season, scoring an unbeaten hundred in the process.
As a result, KKR won the game with nearly six overs to go, making light work of a modest 143-run target.
Delhi Capitals 142-8 (Nissanka 50, Ashutosh 39, Tyagi 2-25) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 147-2 (Allen 100*, Green 33*, Axar 1-27) by eight wickets. View the full scorecard here.
Finn Allen Blasts Century as KKR Beat DC by Eight Wickets
The story of the run-chase was the return to the glorious, destructive best of one Finn Allen. While at one point it did look like the Delhi Capitals might just be in the game after the Kolkata side lost two quick wickets, Allen and Cameron Green quickly steadied the ship before the Kiwi decided to take matters into his own hands.
Allen’s innings consisted of five fours and ten sixes. He was particularly harsh on Delhi’s wrist-spinners, with Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep going for four sixes each off Allen’s blade. With two needed off 35 balls, player of the match Allen launched Mukesh Kumar into the stands to bring up his first IPL hundred and KKR’s fourth win on the trot. The win sees KKR jump a spot on the IPL table, leapfrogging DC to seventh place.
Nissanka Gets DC Off to Decent Start
Earlier, Pathum Nissanka, with some support from KL Rahul, got the Capitals off to a good start. The DC openers raced off to 49 in the first five overs before Rahul was dismissed for 23. Nissanka especially was in excellent touch, hitting spinners and pacers alike.
Too short and he pulled you, too straight and he’d flick you over square leg. Anukul Roy took a bit of punishment from the Sri Lankan, going for a six and two fours off Nissanka’s bat. Roy would have the last laugh, however. Nissanka looked to give Roy the charge but the spinner saw him coming and pushed it wide for Angkrish Raghuvanshi to stump him comfortably.
KKR Spinners Apply the Choke Before Ashutosh Takes DC to Respectable Total
If the dot ball pressure created by the KKR spinners led to Nissanka’s wicket, his wicket led to more dot balls, creating more pressure. Between overs 9 and 16, Delhi were only able to score 26 runs. Suddenly, the Capitals found themselves reeling at 100-5 at the end of the 16th over.
It was only in the 17th over, bowled by a visibly injured Varun Chakravarthy, that Ashutosh Sharma was finally able to break the shackles. A show of brute force combined with craftiness – a ramp over his shoulder from deep in his crease standing out – saw Sharma drag DC to a respectable 140 before he was dismissed by a well-taken Ajinkya Rahane catch.
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