Delhi Daredevils rode on a brilliant knock of 93 not out off 40 balls from their Shreyas Iyer, their newly-appointed captain, to script a 55-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday (April 27).
DD posted a massive total of 219 for 4, and in response, KKR could only get to 164 for 9 in their quota of 20 overs.
Sent in to bat, DD got off to a good start courtesy Prithvi Shaw and Colin Munro, who stitched up an opening partnership of 59 runs in seven overs before the latter perished, bowled by a full delivery from Shivam Mavi.
Shaw and Iyer continued to rack up the runs, despite a few decent spells from the KKR bowlers. It was Piyush Chawla who broke the partnership with the wicket of Shaw in the 14th over, with the youngster departing for a well-made 62 off 44 balls.
Two balls later, Andre Russell accounted for Rishabh Pant, who chipped one in the air for Karthik to complete an easy catch.
Glenn Maxwell was the next man in, and he partnered Iyer for a substantial stand in the middle, with the hosts's skipper taking the onus upon himself to up the ante.
Iyer smashed 10 sixes and three boundaries in his knock, continuing to dominate even after Maxwell fell for 27 off 18. A terrific show in the final over saw DD go past the 200-run mark, and if KKR were to chase the target down, they would have had to register their highest total in the history of the IPL.
KKR started off with a few blazing hits from Sunil Narine, who hit 29 off just nine balls with the help of three sixes and a boundary. Glenn Maxwell, however, got rid of Chris Lynn in the second over, going past his defence with a a delivery that stayed low and clipped his offstump.
Robin Uthappa and Narine followed suit soon after, and DD looked in control when they had Nitish Rana caught and bowled by Avesh Khan in the sixth over. The scorecard read 46 for 4 in 5.1 overs, and KKR looked in trouble.
Shubman Gill and Disnesh Karthik steadied the ship with a slow but steady stand in the middle, but KKR's skipper departed in the 10th over for a run-a-ball knock of 18.
Shubman kept the scoreboard ticking, and Russell entertained the crowd with some blistering hits around the park. The duo brought up the 50-run partnership off just 26 balls, and Russell kept attacking the bowlers.
Shubman fell prey to a mix-up in the 16th over, but his 37 off 29 balls kept KKR in the hunt. Mavi, who came out to bat at No. 8, was bowled by Amit Mishra in the same over, reducing the visiting side to 141 for 7 in 16 overs.
Russell ended with 44 off 30 balls, hitting four sixes and three boundaries along the way, but in the end, it was too little too late in the chase.
KKR will now travel to Bangalore to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday night.
