IPL 2020: Match 42 – KKR vs DC – Who Said What

The 42nd match of the Indian Premier League saw action between Kolkata Knight Riders and table toppers Delhi Capitals. KKR crushed Delhi by big 59 runs to keep marching in the playoffs race. Kolkata looked in fine tune today as they posted a huge 194/6 while batting first today. Nitish Rana showed some flawless form as he smashed 81 off 53. Sunil Narine rejoined his squad only to shine better and brighter as he smashed 64 off 32.

Varun Chakravarthy was named as the player of the match as he came with mind-blowing bowling for the KKR side. Anrich Nortje displayed his pace class yet again as he conceded just 27 runs to pick two wickets. Kagiso Rabada and Marcus Stoinis picked two wickets each for the Delhi team.

Chasing the heavy target in Abu Dhabi, the opening stand of Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan failed to get success for the team. Skipper Shreyas Iyer rose to the occasion as he played an essential knock of 47 off 38. Rishabh Pant added a cameo of 27 runs from his side, but all of it fell too short against the huge target. Young Varun Chakravarthy stunned all as he became the hero of the evening. He unlocked his splendid five-wicket haul by conceding just 20 runs.

Losing Skipper, Shreyas Iyer said

Looking at the start, we should have put a lot of pressure on them and gone for wickets. But the way they batted, especially how Sunil Narine went after us. We could have executed the plans better. I think they chose the bowlers to go after really well. They were really good in shot selection. They outplayed us in pretty much every department. Kudos t their approach and mindset. You need an amazing start when chasing 190. Losing two wickets in the Powerplay puts a lot of prssure on the others. We need to play with freedom and not have a survival mindset. Obviously we are disappointed with the loss, but I am glad it is happening at this point of time. There are a lot of learnings from this game.

Winning Skipper, Eoin Morgan said

We had had a nice couple of days to reflect on things. In such a compact tournament, it can be easy to get caught up. Great of Sunil to come back and play as a proper allrounder. And Nitish Rana and him adding all the runs. The decision to bat Narine there is all the coach. He likes to play his cards. It is all Brendon. Given the nature of the tournament, it is not a tournament where sides get 100 in top 10. You need a longer batting line-up than a strong one. That is why I am batting lower. Varun is such a humble guy. he just goes about his work. Throughout the tournament, he has been our standout performer.

Player of the match, Varun Chakravarthy said

This is surreal. The last few games I didn’t get wickets. I wanted to get one or two today, but thank god I got five. I enjoyed Shreyas Iyer’s wicket the most. I was bowling to the shorter boundary so I had to attack the stumps. I want to thank my mother Hema Malini, father Vinod Chakravarathy and fiancée Neha. And all my physios. Around 2015 when I was not making much money as an architect, I thought I will try something else when I wasn’t able to meet my needs.