In a high-scoring thriller in Sharjah, Delhi secured an 18-runs victory in a nail-biting finish. Morgan and Tripathi almost pulled off a great chase but Delhi had the final laugh. Delhi tops the table now, edging past Bangalore.
Toss: Kolkata opted to bowl first
Team Changes: R Ashwin and Harshal Patel come in (Delhi)
Rahul Tripathi replaces Kuldeep Yadav
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Detailed Match Report
Delhi put a blistering start on a pure batting wicket and added 56 runs for the opening wicket before Dhawan got out on 26. Shreyas Iyer joined the party and continued the acceleration. Shaw scored his second fifty of the season and got out after 73-runs stand with skipper. Delhi’s run-rate didn’t stop as Risabh Pant played a quick cameo of 38 off just 17 balls. Delhi skipper was looking to demolish Kolkata bowlers, remaining not out on 88 from just 38 balls. In last 5 overs, Delhi scored 77 runs to post the highest total of this season, 228. Despite the high-flying batting show, Russell went for just 29 runs in his 4-overs spell and bagged two wickets.
To pull off the highest successful chase, Kolkata required a quick start but Narine went cheaply. Later, Gill and Nitish Rana took the charge and Kolkata finished powerplay on 59/1. The duo tried to change the things but Mishra got Gill and Kolkata promoted Russell up in the order. Rabada picked Russell to break all the hopes. In middle-overs, Kolkata needed big firepower and they lost three more wickets to find themselves in deep trouble. Morgan (44) and Rahul Tripathi (36) suddenly rescued Kolkata to pull off a great chase but Delhi came back with Morgan’s wicket which ended all the hopes for Kolkata. Finally, Delhi clinched the high-scoring thriller by 18 runs.
Star-performer of the match
Shreyas Iyer is our star performer of the match. The skipper was terrific with the bat. He put good stands with Shaw and Pant to take Delhi to 228. On a batting track of Sharjah, Iyer scored unbeaten 88 runs off 38 balls, including 7 fours and 6 sixes.
Top 5 players who made an impact in the game
Prithvi Shaw 66 (41)
Shreyas Iyer 88 (38)
Nitish Rana 58 (35)
Eoin Morgan 44 (18)
Anrich Nortje 4-0-33-3
