Kolkata Knight Riders remain in fray for a playoff berth in IPL 2021 while this was DC's first defeat in the UAE leg.
A cool and collected Kolkata Knight Riders helped Eoin Morgan’s men secure a comfortable three-wicket win against Delhi Capitals in Sharjah on Tuesday. Bowling first, KKR managed to restrict Rishabh Pant’s men to 127/9 in 20 overs. Sunil Narine, who finished with excellent figures of 2/18, was the pick of the KKR bowlers. (DC vs KKR HIGHLIGHTS)
The bright side is that this loss against KKR doesn't dent Delhi's chances of making the playoffs. KKR now have 10 points from 11 games and are fourth in the standings. (POINTS TABLE)
Trinidadian Sunil Narine was the Player of the Match and stated that KKR was playing good cricket, apart from a few niggles. The former West Indian mystery spinner used his experience against the formidable Delhi Capitals batting line-up.
“Watching a few games, knew there's a bit of spin here. Didn't want to get too full. I've been through a lot. Need to give credit to bowling coach, that's a plus and that's been key for me to come back.
"Batting in the middle-order is challenging. It's pleasing to see hard work paying off after a long time. I think we are playing some good cricket,” said Narine.
Meanwhile, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan was delighted with his team’s efforts on the field.
“Tough playing two day games in three days. Winning toss and fielding is not an easy thing to do. Guys were more calculated today, and it came off.
"When the outfield is slow, if you are cagey it can come back to hurt you. Both sides played the game hard. On a hot day, things can boil over. Thankfully, it didn't,” said Morgan.
The England ODI captain also admitted that Delhi Capitals are a tough opposition, crediting KKR’s coach Brendon McCullum for his contribution and inputs.
“Full credit has to go to our coach Brendon McCullum. It's his ethos, his mindset, and the boys have bought into that.”
Delhi Capitals could have reclaimed the top spot in the IPL 2021 points table with a win but only three DC batsmen, Steve Smith, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant, managed to get double digits.
DC captain Rishabh Pant, who was satisfied with his bowlers, said that the batsmen should have scored at least10 more runs.
“We knew the wicket would slow down in the second innings. But every team is trying to win the match. We want to give 100% and if it doesn't go our way we will learn and move on.
"Batting was pretty difficult for new batters. We wanted to capitalise in the end with the bat, but we lost wickets and ended up 10 short. Bowling performance - really happy. There isn't a massive change that we need to do.”