MUMBAI, India, CMC – Rovman Powell unfurled a 16-ball cameo as Delhi Capitals chased down a modest total to beat Andre Russell’s Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets yesterday, and remain within touching distance of the Indian Premier League playoffs.
In pursuit of KKR’s 146 for nine where Russell and West Indies teammate Sunil Narine both failed to score, Capitals overhauled their target with an over to spare, with Powell pummeling a four and three sixes in an unbeaten 33.
Australian opener David Warner top-scored with 42 from 26 deliveries while Axar Patel chipped in with 24, helping Capitals to their fourth win of the season and into sixth place on eight points, just two points off the trio of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Sent in at the Wankhede Stadium, KKR struggled from the outset and needed Nitish Rana’s 57 of 34 deliveries and captain Shreyas Iyer’s 42 from 37 balls, in order to muster a competitive total.
Slumping on 35 for four after the left-handed Narine was lbw first ball to left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (4-14) in the eighth over, KKR were revived by a 48-run, fifth wicket between Rana, who belted three fours and four sixes and Iyer who counted four fours. Kuldeep removed Iyer and Russell in the space of four deliveries in the 14th over but Rana and Rinku Singh (23) put on 62 for the seventh wicket to control the back end of the innings.
Fast bowler Umesh Yadav (3-24) then gave KKR an explosive start when he bowled Prithvi Shaw with the first ball of the innings and when Mitchell Marsh (13) followed in the second over, Capitals were tottering on 17 for two.
Warner added 62 for the third wicket with Lalit Yadav (22) but a cluster of wickets – three for two runs in the space of 11 deliveries – left Capitals with work to do at 84 for five at the start of the 12th over.
However, Powell anchored two key stands, putting on 29 for the sixth wicket with Axar and a further 37 in an unbroken seventh wicket partnership with Shardul Thakur (8 not out), to negate KKR’s threat.
The Jamaican ended the contest by depositing Iyer’s unpracticed spin over the ropes at long on.
Narine produced a stingy four-over spell which cost just 19 runs and yielded one wicket while Russell’s woes were compounded when his lone over leaked 14 runs.