NEW DELHI: In a dominating display, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cruised to a commanding seven-wicket victory over the formidable Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens on Monday.
Despite DC’s recent high-scoring performances, including two instances of surpassing the 220-run mark in their last three games, they faltered to a modest total of 153-9. The resilient Kuldeep Yadav, batting at No.9, salvaged the innings from a dire situation with an unbeaten 35 off 26 balls.
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer was surprised at the way the pitch behaved and felt lucky to bowl first.
“(On if he thought the pitch will play this way) Not at all, considering the last few matches. After the powerplay, the ball started spinning a bit, was helping the spinners and was tacky. Happy that we bowled first, we got an idea on how it was playing,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation.
KKR wasted no time in their chase, swiftly reaching the target with ease at 157-3 in just 16.3 overs. Phil Salt played a pivotal role, capitalising on a dropped catch in the second over to hammer an impressive 68 runs, marking his fourth half-century of the season.
“(On having a chat with the openers beforehand) Sunny, not at all. Phil, he comes into the team meetings and he is completely engrossed into the game. Pure bliss to see the way he is performing. He (Narine) does not (attend team meetings), and I would recommend him to not come as well (smiles).
He (Chakravarthy) was not at his best in the last few games. But today, coming in and delivering under pressure, that is what we demand. The way he turned up today was simply brilliant. We have been thinking about it (qualification) from match one, that has been our mindset. Just focussing on our work ethics and our performance,” Iyer concluded.
Despite DC’s recent high-scoring performances, including two instances of surpassing the 220-run mark in their last three games, they faltered to a modest total of 153-9. The resilient Kuldeep Yadav, batting at No.9, salvaged the innings from a dire situation with an unbeaten 35 off 26 balls.
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer was surprised at the way the pitch behaved and felt lucky to bowl first.
“(On if he thought the pitch will play this way) Not at all, considering the last few matches. After the powerplay, the ball started spinning a bit, was helping the spinners and was tacky. Happy that we bowled first, we got an idea on how it was playing,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation.
KKR wasted no time in their chase, swiftly reaching the target with ease at 157-3 in just 16.3 overs. Phil Salt played a pivotal role, capitalising on a dropped catch in the second over to hammer an impressive 68 runs, marking his fourth half-century of the season.
“(On having a chat with the openers beforehand) Sunny, not at all. Phil, he comes into the team meetings and he is completely engrossed into the game. Pure bliss to see the way he is performing. He (Narine) does not (attend team meetings), and I would recommend him to not come as well (smiles).
He (Chakravarthy) was not at his best in the last few games. But today, coming in and delivering under pressure, that is what we demand. The way he turned up today was simply brilliant. We have been thinking about it (qualification) from match one, that has been our mindset. Just focussing on our work ethics and our performance,” Iyer concluded.