The Delhi Capitals broke a five-game losing trend with their first victory of IPL 2023, but it was not an easy task. Despite having their greatest bowling performance of the season, they were only required to chase 128 runs, but their batsmen had trouble against Kolkata Knight Riders’ abundance of spin bowling. The score may have been 0-6 for the hosts if it weren’t for David Warner’s fourth fifty for the year and Axar Patel continuing until the very finish.
Even if their batting gave the game some late life, the Capitals bowlers in the first innings were the ones who laid the groundwork for victory. Ishant Sharma, who was taking part in his first IPL match since May 2021, grabbed 2 for 19 in four overs, while Anrich Nortje, who took 2 for 20, made batting challenging with his increased pace. The middle order collapsed by Kuldeep Yadav and Axar, who shared four wickets, while Mukesh Kumar dazzled with his new-ball and yorker abilities.
They made sure that the Knight Riders’ batters once again had trouble putting together a strong performance. With the exception of Jason Roy’s 43, Knight Riders’ playing XI had four changes. However, their batting lacked focus. Even though their spinners dug deep, the objective ultimately proved to be too low. They have now dropped three straight games and four of their last six.
Warner stands tall again
Warner remained at one end while wickets fell from the other, like he has done all season. Mitchell Marsh and Phil Salt only managed single digits, while Shaw only managed 13. That gavethe opponent some hope.
Warner, however, kept going and eventually scored his fourth fifty in as many games this season—and this one in only 33 balls. The narrow target allowed him to continue playing his shots, and by the time he raised his bat for the half-century, he had struck 11 fours.
While being more expressive against the seamers, he was particularly savage against Narine, smashing him for four fours in one over. Salt was the third man to leave, so Manish Pandey provided his assistance alongside Warner once he was gone, bringing the equation down to 35 in 42.