KKR smash DC led by Sunil Narine and Raghuvanshi.

Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs’ blistering half-centuries were merely 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 score in IPL history. DC could only manage 166 after being damaged early in the chase.

Another explosive Sunil Narine?

Due to short deliveries during the past 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 after the latter managed just eight runs off his first nine deliveries during the first three calm overs, where he was kept in check by Khaleel Ahmed.

He began by dragging a short delivery over a deep square leg and drilling a length delivery outside off over the long off fence. He kept smashing Ishant’s length and full deliveries in a 26-run over, and the mayhem went on.

After that, in the final over of the powerplay, the southpaw gave Rashik Salam the same treatment, hitting 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, with the final 43 runs coming off of just 12 deliveries.

Sunil Narine attack spared not a single bowler. He hit a 19-run innings against Axar and continued to swat at anything the bowlers threw at him.

Though he didn’t always find the centre of the willow, he was able to land the ball in secure spots with sufficient force or good fortune. Eventually, in the thirteenth over, Narine’s innings ended when his attempted swipe off Mitchell Marsh caught the edge and went to the keeper. But by then, KKR’s rating had risen to 164.

Not too long after, his opening partner Phil Salt fell, having taken the bowlers in the first three overs. That did not, however, significantly weaken KKR’s momentum as Angkrish Raghuvanshi made a spectacular entrance in his first IPL innings. He began by pulling a short delivery from Anrich Nortje for a boundary, and then he punched a short ball through the point region for an additional four.

He made effective use of the reverse scoop and sweep techniques as well as some creative shot-making. After hitting two sixes and a four to close Sumit Kumar’s ninth over, he proceeded to clobber Salam for two sixes in the eleventh over. He and Narine shared a second-wicket partnership of 104 runs in 48 balls, but he was out shortly after as the southpaw sent a rampaging Nortje to Ishant, who was positioned at excellent third man.

The loss of the second wicket partnership did not bring an end to the suffering of the Delhi Capitals. Rinku Singh and Andre Russell carried out exactly what their notoriety required, pulverising the bowlers. With six sixes and five boundaries hammered in only 27 balls, the pair managed to amass 67 runs.

Numerous wides were also produced in an attempt to keep the balls off their swinging arc, which raised the total. It took just 14 runs for KKR to reach the best total in the history of the competition at the end of the penultimate over. However, Ishant’s superb over started when he cleaned up Russell on the ground with a yorker and then took Ramandeep apart with a slower ball.

Shreyas Iyer battled for a while among all the carnage, but during his brief stint in the middle, where Russell ruled the show, he even smacked a few of sixes.

With a brace apiece in the powerplay that left DC at 33 for 4, Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora made sure that KKR wouldn’t face another MI-style challenge.

In an attempt to bring DC to a respectable total, if not threaten the chase, Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs counterattacked. Pant hit two sixes into the deep square leg area off Russell shortly after the powerplay, and Stubbs then faced Varun Chakravarthy. Shreyas removed him at deep mid wicket after he blasted the spinner for two sixes. Venkatesh Iyer, however, was spared the most vicious attack as Pant smashed the medium pacer for 28 runs in the 12th over.

But Chkravarthy removed Pant and Axar off consecutive deliveries in the following over, starting yet another collapse. In the next over, Stubbs faced Narine, but he too left for Chakravarthy shortly after reaching his fifty-score.

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With the exception of Pant and Stubbs’ 93-run partnership, the other batsmen did not put up much of a fight as DC was bowled out in 17.2 overs.

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 166 all out in 17.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 55, Tristan Stubbs 54; Vaibhav Arora 3-27, Varun Chakravarthy 3-33) were defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders 272/7 in 20 overs (Sunil Narine 85, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 54; Anrich Nortje 3-59) by 106 runs.