Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On Tuesday, April 29, the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by 14 runs in match 48 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. After brilliant bowling spell from Mitchell Starc, KKR defended the 204-run score registered 14-run win over their opponents.
For the unversed, the captain of DC, Axar Patel, won the toss and decided to bowl first. However, this decision did not pay much dividends since MItchell Starc restricted the KKR batters, picking three quick wickets in the penultimate over. Wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine stitched a 48-run stand for the opening wicket before the former was removed by Starc with Porel completing a catch behind the wickets.
Vipraj Nigam then removed Sunil Narine, followed by the wicket of skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who departed having scored 26 off 14 balls. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who walked out at number four, played a pivotal role, playing a 32-ball 44, along with Rinku Singh, who scored 36 runs off 25 deliveries. Other than them, Andre Russell did unleash some firepower, playing a nine-ball 17 as the KKR side posted 204 runs on the board in their allotted 20 overs.
For the hosts, Mitchell Starc (3/43) picked up three wickets, while spinners Axar Patel (2/27) and Vipraj Nigam (2/41) chipped in with two wickets apiece. Sri Lankan Dushmantha Chameera also chipped in with one wicket.
KKR keep their playoffs hopes alive in IPL 2025
In the run chase, the hosts looked in a bit of worry as they lost Abishek Porel early. The wicketkeeper-batter departed having scored only four runs off two deliveries. With Karun Nair joining Faf du Plessis in the middle, he did add some runs but was dismissed by Vaibhav Arora. KL Rahul, who has been in a brilliant form in the tournament, also had a forgettable day as he was dismissed by a spot-on run out from Sunil Narine.
Faf du Plessis and skipper Axar Patel then took the innings forward, taking the side from 60/3 to 136 runs before a combined effort from Sunil Narine and Harshit Rana helped them dismiss the Indian all-rounder at the score of 43. Tristan Stubbs, Faf du Plessis (62 off 45) Ashutosh Sharma and Mitchell Starc departed in quick succession. But Vipraj Nigam did show some signs of hope for the hosts, but the KKR bowlers kept DC fighting for a life and eventually handed them 14 runs defeat.
With a win, KKR continue to be in the playoffs race, needing them to win all their remaining games, DC continued to reel at the fourth spot in the points table with two back-to-back defeats.
