KKR’s Finn Allen (agency image) Kolkata Knight Riders continued their remarkable late-season revival with a crushing eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday, thanks to a brilliant spin followed by a breathtaking maiden IPL century from Finn Allen. The win was KKR’s fourth in a row and kept alive their playoff hopes as Delhi slipped deeper into trouble with their seventh defeat in 11 matches.
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Is everything wrong with Suryakumar Yadav’s wrist? | Exclusive visuals After opting to bowl first, Kolkata’s bowling unit put in a clinical performance to restrict Delhi to just 142/8 on a surface where the hosts had posted 264 earlier this season. While Pathum Nissanka gave Delhi a bright start with an aggressive 50 off 29 balls, the innings gradually lost steam once KKR’s spinners settled down. Nissanka and KL Rahul added fluidity during the powerplay as they took Delhi to 49 while attacking anything loose. The Nissanka looked particularly confident, finding boundaries through the offside and loosening the ropes with ease. However, KKR’s decision to trust spin from the very beginning proved decisive. Sunil Narine and Anukul Roy were introduced early and immediately slowed down the scoring rate with disciplined lines and subtle variations. The breakthrough finally came when Kartik Tyagi dismissed Rahul for 23 off a slower delivery that forced an aerial error. Soon after, Cameron Green removed Nitish Rana cheaply to keep Delhi under pressure. From there, KKR’s spin trio completely hardened. Varun Chakaravarthy worked a miserly spell that dried up the boundaries and forced Delhi’s batting into risky shots. Narine then struck by dismissing Sameer Rizvi, who mis-hit straight in the deep. Nissanka resisted briefly and reached his half-century with a sharp boundary through odd cover, but Roy outwitted him immediately after the milestone and coaxed him out of the crease to reach the stumps. Roy then trapped Tristan Stubbs in the same over as Delhi again lost wickets in bunches. Had it not been for Ashutosh Sharma’s counter-attack of 39 off 28 deliveries, containing three fours and three sixes, Delhi might have struggled to even cross the 120-run mark. Chasing 143, Delhi managed to create the first moments of excitement. Ajinkya Rahane suffered a bizarre run-out after the ball hit Mitchell Starc’s fingertips on the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Shortly after, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was dismissed in equally unfortunate fashion as the ball brushed his glove before rolling back onto the stumps. But once Allen settled in, the chase quickly became one-sided. The New Zealand batsman unleashed a master class six-striker and dismantled Delhi’s bowling attack with a fearless stroke play. He dominated both pace and spin, smashing 10 sixes and five boundaries in an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls. Green played a perfect supporting role at the other end as the pair calmly rebuilt after the early goals. Allen eventually sealed the game in emphatic fashion as KKR chased down the target in just 14.2 overs to cap another dominant win in their dramatic turnaround this season.
