The DJ at the Arun Jaitley Stadium probably had a bigger beat than the Delhi Capitals batting line-up on Friday night. Because once the Kolkata Knight Riders spinners settled into the game, the Delhi innings simply stopped moving.
DC vs KKR: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
DC actually got off to a good start too. They raced to 55/1 in the powerplay, Pathum Nissanka looked in control, and for a brief period it looked like one of those nights in Delhi where a 180 suddenly appeared quickly. Instead, KKR’s spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Anukul Roy completely strangled the innings through the middle overs.
From overs 7 to 15, Delhi managed only 43 runs for the loss of four wickets. And the phase that really killed them came between overs 12 and 16 where DC scored just 11 runs.
11 runs in four overs at Delhi in a pressure playoff game.
That’s where the shift completely fell apart.
KKR won the toss, decided to bowl first and read the pitch much quicker than the home side. Their spinners bowled to an uncomfortable length, kept attacking the stumps and never allowed the Delhi batsmen to settle for more than a few deliveries.
By the time Ashutosh Sharma finally broke free late in the innings with 39 off 28 balls, most of the damage had already been done.
And frankly, the bigger problem for Delhi is that it keeps happening at home.
Only a few days ago, DC coach Hemang Badani admitted the side is still yet to fully grasp the nature of the Arun Jaitley Stadium surfaces this season. On Friday night, the KKR spinners looked much clearer on how to play on it than the Delhi batsmen on how to score on it.
KKR’s fourth win in a row now keeps them alive in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Delhi is running out of matches and answers.
ANUKUL ROY’S ONE OVER CHANGED EVERYTHING
Delhi were still in a decent position for the first 10 overs.
The Nissanka batted fluently and just brought up her fifty off 29 balls. DC were 80/3 and still looked capable of pushing 160-plus.
Then Anukul Roy came back into the attack.
Nissanka tried to drive down the track again just after reaching fifty, but Roy saw it early, pulled the ball shorter and wider and completely overshot the shot. Angkrish Raghuvanshi completed the stumping.
A few deliveries later, Tristan Stubbs was beaten by a flatter ball that took a slight pinch and clipped the top of the off-stump.
Delhi suddenly became 89/5 from 80/3.
And after that, KKR never let them recover.
Roy’s figures of 2/31 don’t fully show how important that spell was. The wickets came just as Delhi were trying to regain momentum.
NARINE AND VARUN TURN THE MIDDLES INTO A TRAP
Delhi was actually doing well at one stage.
55 in the power play, Nissanka bats smoothly and it doesn’t look impossible to score even on the field. It didn’t feel like an innings heading for 142.
Then Narine and Varun really got into the game.
And suddenly everyone began to feel the hard work.
There were no more freebies. No easy shots. Just constant pressure. Narine kept firing to uncomfortable lengths while Varun kept changing the pace enough to prevent the batsmen from lining him up cleanly. The Indian spinner reduced the speed from 109 kmph to somewhere between 90-95 at one point to get a better swim from the track.
Result? Delhi completely lost their pace in the middle overs.
Axar Patel’s innings probably summed it up best. The DC skipper came in after the collapse and never looked settled against the spin. He kept trying to work singles, looking for gaps, but the KKR spinners never let him settle into any rhythm. By the time he got out for 11 off 22 balls, the innings had already slowed considerably.
That stretch from 12 to 16 completely killed all DC’s plans to push towards 160 or 170. By then, Ashutosh Sharma was trying to repair the innings rather than finish one strongly.
His 39 off 28 gave Delhi something at the end, especially with the late boundaries helping DC score 44 in the last five overs, but the real damage was done much earlier.
Narine’s 1/17 and Varun’s 0/28 may not look terrible on paper, but together they completely dominated the game.
The KKR spinners did not let Delhi breathe for almost 10 overs in a row.
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Published on:
May 9, 2026 07:52 IST
