- Friday, May 17, 2024
Phil Salt’s aggressive batting, coupled with Varun Chakravarthy’s exceptional bowling, set the stage for Kolkata’s triumph.
By: Vivek Mishra
In an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, the Kolkata Knight Riders emerged victorious by seven wickets against the Delhi Capitals.
Phil Salt’s aggressive batting, coupled with Varun Chakravarthy’s exceptional bowling, set the stage for Kolkata’s triumph.
Salt’s innings of 68 runs proved instrumental, while Chakravarthy’s spell, claiming three wickets for 16 runs, anchored Kolkata’s bowling attack.
The in-form Salt, an England wicketkeeper-batsman, led the chase with an opening stand of 79 with Sunil Narine and the two-time champions reached their target with 3.3 overs to spare.
“It is high-risk but it is also about putting the odds in your favour and not taking the risks you don’t want to,” Salt said after the game.
“You just have to keep backing yourself and keep taking the right options.”
The mercury in the afternoon soared above 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) but the stadium witnessed a near-packed house at the 66,000 capacity stadium for the evening game.
Kolkata with their sixth win in nine matches have moved closer to booking a play-off spot.
Delhi elected to bat first but lost regular wickets including Prithvi Shaw for 13 and fellow opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, out for 12 off left-arm quick Mitchell Starc.
Skipper Rishabh Pant attempted to resist the slide in his unconvincing knock of 27 before he was dismissed by man of the Chakravarthy.
Chakravarthy rattled the middle and lower-order to make Delhi slip to 111-8 before number nine Kuldeep Yadav claimed an unbeaten 35.
“I think that (batting first) was a good option but as a batting unit, we did not bat well enough. 150 was definitely below par,” said Pant.
Salt, who climbed into the top five batsmen this IPL season with 392 runs, led the charge alongside fellow opener Narine, smashing 23 runs off the first over from Lizaad Williams.
He achieved his fourth half-century of the season in just 26 balls, sealing it with a six off Khaleel Ahmed. However, Salt’s blistering knock came to an end when he was dismissed by spinner Axar Patel after a 33-ball innings adorned with seven fours and five sixes.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer contributed 33 runs, while Venkatesh Iyer played a crucial role, hitting the winning six in his 23 runs. Together, they guided the team to victory with an unbeaten partnership of 57 runs.
(AFP)
