The stars Narine and Raghuvanshi as KKR beat DC

Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs’ blistering half-centuries were only incidental as Kolkata Knight Riders destroyed Delhi Capitals by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. With half-centuries from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (27 balls, 54) and Sunil Narine (39 balls, 85), and a late burst from Andre Russell (19 balls, 41) and Rinku Singh (8 balls, 26), KKR amassed 272/7, the second-highest total in IPL history. DC could only manage 166 after being damaged early in the pursuit.

Another explosive Sunil Narine?

Due to short deliveries during the last several seasons, the pinch hitter had somewhat lost his magic touch, but this season he has returned to form and is more productive than ever. In keeping with his antics from the previous game, he put pressure on the DC bowlers. He took the attack to Ishant Sharma in the fourth over. The latter managed just eight runs off his first nine deliveries during the first three calm overs. Khaleel Ahmed kept a check on him. He began by dragging a short delivery over a deep square leg. Khaleel hammered a length delivery outside off over the long off fence. He kept smashing Ishant’s length and full deliveries, and the devastation went on.

After that, in the final over of the powerplay, the southpaw gave Rashik Salam the same treatment. He hit three boundaries and a six to help KKR reach 88 for 1 before the field limits were lifted. At that point, he had reached his half-century in just 21 balls. The final 43 runs came off of just 12 deliveries.

Narine’s attack spared not a single bowler. He hit a 19-run innings against Axar and continued to swat at everything the bowlers threw at him. Though he didn’t always locate the center of the willow, he could land the ball in secure spots with sufficient force. Eventually, in the thirteenth over, Narine’s innings ended. His attempted swipe off Mitchell Marsh caught the edge and went to the keeper. But by then, KKR’s rating had risen to 164.