The Knights head to the national capital for the first time in 3 years post the pandemic, to face a Delhi Capitals side who are still winless but with a point to prove on Thursday. Contests between the two sides have always produced some enthralling encounters that have brought much joy to both sets of fans and the neutrals.
In 31 encounters against the Delhi based side, the Knights have gone on to win 16, while Delhi have come out as winners on 14 occasions.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 wins we had against Delhi in the past:
1.Rahul’s 6 in the final over of the 2021 Eliminator
Cruising at 123/1 and needing just 12 of the final 24 balls, one would have thought the result was a forgone conclusion in our eliminator against Delhi a couple of seasons ago. However, Delhi fought back picking up 6 wickets in the next 4 overs including 2 back to back for Ashwin in the final over before Rahul Tripathi hit him out of the park for a monumental six that helped us get over the line with one ball to spare! This was not one for the faint hearted and one that both sets of fans will remember for years to come.
2.The Rawalpindi express runs riot at the Eden
No hardcore Knight can forget the fiery spell from Shoaib Akhtar the first time we faced Delhi in the IPL all the way back in 2008. Defending a modest 135, Akhtar got the prized wickets of Sehwag, Gambhir and De Villers and Manoj Tiwary in a fiery opening spell to leave Delhi reeling at 28-4 in 4.3 overs. The opposition never recovered and were bowled out for 110 giving the Knights a comfortable win.
3.Russell goes berserk at the Eden, spin wizards do the rest
In the 13th match of the IPL in 2018, the Knights hosted Delhi Capitals at the Eden. Batting first, Nitish Rana was playing a sublime innings at one end but not finding much support at the other. In comes Russell with the score reading 117-4 in 13.4 overs and plays one of the most destructive cameos in the IPL. The Jamaican scored 42 runs in 12 balls featuring 6 maximums that broke the back of the Delhi bowlers and helped the Knights post an imposing total of 200. In reply, DC never got going, losing wickets at regular intervals as Narine and Kuldeep Yadav combined to pick up 3 wickets each to give KKR a memorable 71 run win
4.Bowlers bundle out Delhi for 99 to set up memorable 9 wicket win
In 2016, the Knights elected to bowl after winning the toss at the Eden. The bowlers made full use of the helpful conditions at the Eden to restrict Delhi to just 99 runs. Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers picking up all 3 of Delhi’s top order to leave them reeling at 31-3 early on. Brad Hogg and Chawla then shared 5 wickets between themselves to complete the demolition job. The Knights then got home with 35 balls to spare and 9 wickets in hand. Russell deservingly won the Man of the Match Award.
5.Rana, Narine and Varun script memorable 59 run win in Abu Dhabi
Put in to bat after Delhi won the toss, the Knights were in a spot of bother when Rana and Narine got together in the 8th over with the score reading 42/3. The duo then put together a memorable stand of 115 runs in 56 balls to take the game away from Delhi. Rana top scored with 81, whilst Narine added 62. Defending 194, Varun Chakravarthy’s career best figures of 5/20 helped the Knights restrict DC to 139 earning him the Man of the Match Award!
