IPL 2018: Russell-Rana show, spinners help Kolkata Knight Riders crush Delhi Daredevils by 71 runs

Kolkata, April 16: Kolkata Knight Riders put up a clinical show first with the bat and later with the ball as they crushed Delhi Daredevils by 71 runs to register their second win in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 here on Sunday (April 16).

Defending a huge total of 200, KKR bowled exceptionally well and bundled DD to a paltry 129 in 14.2 overs and registered a comprehensive win.

Sunil Narine (3/18) and Kuldeep Yadav (3/32) were the pick of bowlers for KKR and heroes with the ball in an emphatic win which has propelled them to the second spot in the points table.

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Chasing a target of 201 Delhi suffered their first jolt in the very first over when the hero of their last-match win Jason Roy was stumped by Dinesh Karthik off Piyush Chawla. Shreyas Iyer, the new-man-in, was dismissed cheaply for 4 as he was caught by Nitish Rana in the slip cordon as he edged Russell. Rana got too less of reaction time but he showed good reflexes and caught hold of the ball.

Right, since some of you believe I have the power to jinx (wouldn't it be fun if someone really had that kind of power!), what do you recommend I tweet next!!
😉😂

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 16, 2018

Skipper Gautam Gambhir (8) too had a dismal outing in the middle and he was cleaned up by young Shivam Mavi and left his team in the lurch.

The only highlight for Delhi's run chase were Rishabh Pant and Glenn Maxwell when they went after the KKR bowlers and they kept the asking run rate under check as they were involved in a 62-run stand. But, both of them were removed by Kuldeep Yadav and the visitors lost the track in the chase.

The Daredevils just collapsed after fall of Pant's wicket as they lost their last 7 wickets for 43 runs in 35 balls.

After he failed to contribute with the bat, Narine produced a spectacular show with the ball and returned with figures of (3-0-18-3) and became first foreign spinner to complete 100-plus wickets in the IPL.

The spin magician strikes twice in one over to surpass the 100-wicket mark in #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/OTN76IhXcK

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2018

Chinaman Kuldeep too complemented Narine well as he too grabbed 3 wickets and conceded 32 runs. The youngster would have relished the way he got the wickets of dangerous Pant and Maxwell.

Delhi would have a lot to ponder about after this humiliating defeat against KKR as their skipper Gambhir's homecoming was spoilt due to poor batting effort.

On paper, I thought #DelhiDaredevils had the better side but at key moments, #KKR had players who took the game away. Russel's 41(12) but as important Uthappa's 35(18) after a lacklustre start for #KKR.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 16, 2018

Earlier, Andre Russell wreaked havoc with the bat once again as he hammered 41 off 12 balls while Nitish Rana slammed a brilliant half-century to propel Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a mammoth total.

If Russell's cameo of 41 runs was laced with 6 maximums as he batted at an incredible strike rate of 341.67 in his innings and the passionate crowd at Eden Gardens was enthralled. The longest six hit by the Jamaican swashbuckler, who idolises Universe Boss Chris Gayle, is certainly going to challenge the latter's reputation. He was dismissed by a yorker by in-form Trent Boult.

Rana, on the other hand, played another quality knock as he also scored at a strike rate of 168.57. The left-handed batsman from Delhi cleared his intentions the moment he stepped into the middle by hitting a maximum on the fourth delivery he faced.

Coming in to bat at no. 4, Rana played some exquisite strokes initially and punished the bowlers for every loose ball. He was dismissed for 59 by Chris Morris in the 19th over. But by that time he had done his job.

It will be a fair assessment to say how 12 balls from @Russell12A changed the course of the entire match for the @KKRiders #KKRvDD

— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) April 16, 2018

Earlier, Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to chase his former franchise. Gambhir's decision was justified as Trent Boult started bowling in a stylish fashion as the left-arm pacer from New Zealand bowled the first over with a maiden. Two of most destructive openers in the tournament i.e. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine opened the innings for KKR but Boult started things brilliantly.

Narine (1) was the first to perish as he was removed by Boult. Boult went for the short ball tactic against Narine, and it paid off. The batsman swept the ball with little control and gets a top edge through to the keeper Rishabh Pant. Pant ended up parrying the ball to Glenn Maxwell at first slip.

Robin Uthappa looked in sublime form but he was dismissed for 35 by Shahbaz Nadeem in the eighth over. Uthappa tried the slog-sweep after hitting the bowler for two massive sixes previously but doesn't get it right the third time. It took an edge off the bat and looped straight up for the bowler to pouch.

Chris Lynn, who wasn't looking in his zone from the very start, was dismissed for 31 off 29 balls.Lynn's scratchy innings came to an end after he failed to pick the slower delivery from Mohammed Shami and ended up shanking it off the inner half of the blade. The bat turned in the hands, and spooned down to Jason Roy at long on.

Skipper Karthik played a 19-run cameo off 10 balls after he was set up brilliantly by Gambhir as he decided to put a fielder at deep mid wicket after the batsman hit two consecutive boundaries. Karthik couldn't help himself and produced exactly the same stroke, and lobs it down the throat of Trent Boult.

Russell and Rana put up a brilliant partnership and took their team to a huge total. However, Russell (41) was dismissed by Boult in the 17th over while Rana was removed by Morris which finally put a brake on the run flow for the hosts. Rahul Tewati (3-0-18-3) bowled the final over of the innings and grabbed three wickets in that over and conceded just one.

Boult was the pick of the bowlers for Delhi as he returned with figures of 4-1-29-2. Chris Morris (2/41) and Shahbaz Nadeem (1/43) bagged wickets but leaked runs, as well as KKR, reached 200.