Highlights, IPL 2018, KKR vs DD at Eden Gardens, Full Cricket Score: Kolkata beat Delhi by 71 runs

Poor display by Delhi Daredevils

A very bad for Delhi at the office but who is to be blamed? Leaking 200 runs first with the ball and then a shabby performance with the bat in hand. Not the kind of performance a Gautam Gambhir team is expected to produce while playing at Eden Gardens. Well, there is a lot of work to be done for his team and coach Ricky Ponting must have filled his notebook today with remarks. KKR is a happy unit at the end of the day and why not. They were too good with the bat and then brilliant in the field with the ball. One has to admit that Dinesh Karthik was yet again excellent with his captaincy, especially with his bowling changes.

Nitish Rana is the Man of the Match. 

Rana: It is a very good feeling. It is my first season with KKR. I made a good start but unfortunately there were two unlucky dismissals. If I see the fielding, I get an idea of their plan. The opposition had planned to not bowl me outside off, so I was ready to counter that plan.

Dinesh Karthik, Kolkata Knight Riders captain:

Win keeps you happy. Feels good to win. Kind of day when everything worked. Wrsit spinners are picked for a certain reason. Happy to be KKR captain. Getting used to it. Trying to keep up at it.

100-plus wickets for a team in IPL:

Lasith Malinga for MI

Harbhajan Singh for MI 

Sunil Narine for KKR*

A huge triumph for the home team. A much-needed one after two back to back defeats. Their campaign seems back on track. Also, the margin of victory will boost their net run rate as well. 

Tomorrow, the team will travel to Jaipur to take on Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.

This is the third largest win for KKR in IPL by runs. Their highest is 140 runs against RCB at Bangalore in 2008.

71 runs loss for Delhi Daredevils… this will hurt in more ways than one… net run rate, Gambhir’s return to Eden and confidence that could have come after beating Mumbai Indians away…. RCB away up next… that won’t be easy either… this season is already hurting for DD!

Gautam Gambhir, Delhi Daredevils captain:

KKR getting 200 was a very good effort from them. Chasing it was always going to be difficult. When Russell takes on it becomes hard. When it is in his radar it is difficult to stop him. Next game is important for us. One away win can get us back.

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by 71 runs. A listless batting display by Gautam Gambhir and Co means that they have lost third match of the IPL 2018.

OUT! Boult gives an easy caught and bowl to Kuldeep Yadav. That’s it for Delhi. Poor, poor batting display. Boult c and b Kuldeep Yadav 0(2)

After 14 overs,Delhi Daredevils 128/9 ( Shahbaz Nadeem 5 , Trent Boult 0)

Narine into his third over. He gets his third wicket to increase the tally to 102 IPL wickets. KKR just one wicket away from their second win of the tournament.

OUT! Shami perishes trying to hit a big one. The ball could not cross the 30-yard circle and it i Russell who takes the catch. Shami c A Russell b Narine 7(6)

Ok, looks like KKR have secured two points here. But they should try and take the remaining two wickets as early as possible. NRR will be a key factor towards the end of the league stage.

After 13 overs,Delhi Daredevils 125/8 ( Mohammed Shami 6 , Shahbaz Nadeem 3)

Seven runs from the last over. It is done and dusted for Delhi. Only formalities left.

FOUR! Shami eyes the mid-wicket region and that’s gone for four.

After 12 overs,Delhi Daredevils 118/8 ( Nadeem 1, Shami  1)

Sunil Narine comes into attack and delivers as he gets two important wickets in the over. First, Morris and then Shankar.

Least matches to take 100 wickets in IPL:

70 – Lasith Malinga 

82 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar 

83 – Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra 

86 – Sunil Narine*

89 – Dwayne Bravo

Least matches to take 100 wickets in IPL:

70 – Lasith Malinga 

82 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar 

83 – Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra 

86 – Sunil Narine*

89 – Dwayne Bravo

Sunil Narine becomes the first overseas spinner to take 100 wickets in IPL.

Shahbaz Nadeem, right-hand bat is the next man in.

OUT! Narine gets his 101th wicket, a simple off-spin and it was enough for Shankar as he went on backfoot and was caught plumbed. Vijay Shankar lbw b Narine 2(4)

Mohammed Shami is the next match in.

OUT! Morris makes room and tries to go big over the covers but misses it completely. 100th wicket for Marine in IPL. Chris Morris b Narine 2(3)

Maxwell holes out in the deep… and with that it can be said that the Daredevils’ hopes have vanished too. And just as I type this… Chris Morris is bowled too. Curtains!

Huge wicket for the home side, Maxwell was taking the game away. However, KKR should not relax here, Morris and Vijay Shankar are no mug with the bat. For Karthik, Narine’s remaining three overs will be the trump card.

Sunil Narine is back on…

Chris Morris is the next man in for Delhi.

After 11 overs,Delhi Daredevils 114/6 ( Vijay Shankar 1 , Chris Morris 1)

Kuldeep with his second over and he has got rid of KKR’s biggest threat in the match – Glenn Maxwell, who went back, three short of what could have been a well-made fifty. KKR dominating at the moment.

OUT! Short ball again and Maxwell gives it his all but could not clear the deep mid-wicket boundary.  Uthappa does the catching. Maxwell c Uthappa b Kuldeep Yadav 47(22)

Though KKR have taken five wickets, but DD batsmen haven’t allowed the asking rate to go out of control. In this era of power-hitting, 100 in last 10 is perfectly possible. But, Maxwell needs to stay until the 17th or 18th over.

SIX! This time Maxwell connects well as he hits it over mid-wicket.

SIX! Maxwell goes big and this was to be caught at wide long-on by Mavi but drops it and the ball goes beyonf the ropes.

Kuldeep Yadav is back on.

After 10 overs,Delhi Daredevils 99/5 ( Glenn Maxwell 33 , Vijay Shankar 1)

10 overs up. The equation is 102 needed off 60 balls and it is not tough. Just that Delhi have lost too many wickets, trying to play one shot too many. Key here is Maxwell but can he finish off for them?

Rishabh Pant’s last five T20 knocks:

43, 47, 20, 28, 7

He has not been able to convert his starts.

Vijay Shankar, right-hand bat, comes to the crease.

OUT! Soft dismissal. Tewatia hits it hard but straight to Andre Russell at short cover. Rahul Tewatia c A Russell b Tom Curran 1(2)

SIX! Curran drops this one short and Maxwell pulls it over the square leg boundary.

And just when things were looking good… Pant holes out. To be honest, he had to start going for his shots and he looked to target the leg spinner… but maybe he chose the wrong leg spinner to attack… Kuldeep is no easy customer…

After 9 overs,Delhi Daredevils 90/4 ( Glenn Maxwell 25 , Rahul Tewatia 1)

Kuldeep Yadav with his first over. Hit for four on the first ball but got Pant on the third ball of the over. Delhi are going well but losing wickets frequently.

Rahul Tewatia, left-handed bat, is the next man in.

OUT! And that’s curtains for Pant who heaves a short ball by Kuldeep to deep mid-wicket but Piyush Chawla was there to pouch it. Pant c Chawla b Kuldeep Yadav 43(26)

50 partnership up for Pant and Maxwell… bit of a recovery for the Daredevils… can they turn this around? Pant has shown a sane head while Maxwell is also watching his shots… the duo who we have seen throw their bats around earlier in the season are both playing carefully… Daredevils will be hoping they can carry on.

FOUR! Maxwell reverse sweeps Kuldeep Yadav on the very first ball for four to third man.

Fifty run-stand between Maxwell and Pant. Delhi needs more.

Kuldeep Yadav, the CHINAMAN, is into the attack.

After 8 overs,Delhi Daredevils 81/3 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 43 , Glenn Maxwell 17)

Tom Curran introduced into the attack and he was welcomed with a boundary by Pant. Maxwell too hit a six and Delhi are staging a little comeback. Next five overs crucial for them from run-rate point of view.

Piyush Chawla has dismissed Glenn Maxwell thrice in IPL. Will Maxwell be able to tackle the spin trio?

Karthik needs to introduce Kuldeep as soon as possible. This is a crucial moment in the match and one wicket here can more or less seal their fate. Especially against Maxwell, wrist spin is always a handy option.

SIX! Short in length and Maxwell rocks on backfoot to hook it for a six to fine leg.

FOUR! Curran has been welcomed with a boundary as Pant smashes the fullish delivery through the covers.

Time-Out over. Tom Curran is into the attack with his first over**.**

There is a mini-conference going between Ricky Ponting and Delhi batsmen in the middle.

After 7 overs,Delhi Daredevils 69/3 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 38 , Glenn Maxwell 10)

Piyush Chawla comes back into the attack and Pant welcomes him with a six and four off the first two balls of the over. He gave just 3 runs off the next four balls but was a little wayward in length.  Meanwhile, Strategic Time Out has been taken.

FOUR! Short ball from Piyush. He rocks back and cuts it through point for a boundary.

SIX! Piyush Chawla into the attack and Pant hits him over the extra cover for six.

After 6 overs,Delhi Daredevils 56/3 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 27 , Glenn Maxwell 9)

Six overs gone and Delhi are somewhat back in this with two fours in the last over of the powerplay. Still a lot of work to be done and Pant holds importance. He also needs to bat responsibly.

Sunil Narine v DD in IPL:

Wickets – 14

Eco. rate – 6.16

SR – 18.43

FOUR! Another ball on the leg by Narine and Pant sweeps him for four. He is taking on the Narine challenge.

FOUR! Rishabh Pant heaves it between mid-wicket and mid-on for four.

Sunil Narine, into the attack.

After 5 overs,Delhi Daredevils 45/3 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 17 , Glenn Maxwell 8)

Mavi continues. He is a big heart player and he is using many variations. Delhi, on the other hand, are looking lacklustre and not mentally strong to chase this down.

FOUR! A rare short ball from Mavi and Maxwell frees his hand to cut it for four.

Maiden IPL scalp for Mavi and what a delivery to get rid of Gambhir! One needs to give credit to Karthik here for giving confidence to the 19-year old. The boy has a good action and looks sharp.

Unlike their previous effort against SRH, here KKR pacers have bowled a better length in the powerplay. There hasn’t been any unnecessary short stuff. They have kept the DD batsmen guessing so far.

Shivam Mavi is back on.

After 4 overs,Delhi Daredevils 38/3 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 16 , Glenn Maxwell 4)

Russell back on. He has been wayward but Delhi batsmen have been more wayward in their approach in this chase. Pant is yet again trying way too much and losing his shape as he tries to slash, smash and heave. Proper cricketing shots can get him runs here and Nitish Rana, his Delhi Ranji teammate how to bat here.

FOUR! Maxwell off the mark in his own style. Short ball and he hits it over the cover fielder for a boundary.

FOUR! Pant goes big but does not connect too well. The ball was in the air before landing near the cover boundary ropes before strolling beyond them.

Andre Russell, into the attack.

And now Gambhir plays on. Eden errupts… The crowd has moved on… Quickly! Delhi in deep trouble at 24/3 and this is a potential huge loss that will harm their NRR.

After 3 overs,Delhi Daredevils 24/3 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 7 , Glenn Maxwell 0)

Young Shivam Mavi given the ball. He is pacey and extracting good bounce as well. It was a good ball to get rid of Gambhir. Delhi on the backfoot now.

OUT! Gambhir is BOWLED! and it is young Shivam Mavi who gets him. Mavi bowls over the wicket and ball nips back. Gambhir tries to cut the ball but fails. Gambhir b Shivam Mavi 8(7)

FOUR! Short ball, wrong line and Pant beats short fine leg for a boundary.

A nothing shot from Shreyas Iyer… Caught in slip was the obvious end. Deeper trouble for Delhi. This is exactly the opposite start to what they would have wanted.

This was the third time that Andre Russell dismissed Shreyas Iyer in IPL.

Shivam Mavi, right arm pace, into the attack.

After 2 overs,Delhi Daredevils 15/2 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 7 , Rishabh Pant (W) 0)

Russell with the second over of the innings. Iyer, like always looked in great touch but played a no-shot on the next ball after playing a beautiful stroke on the earlier ball, giving an easy catch to Nitish Rana at first slip. Two wickets in the first two overs and Delhi are on backfoot.

Rishabh Pant comes to the crease.

OUT! What a way to get out. Iyer does catching practice with Nitish Rana at first slip. Shreyas Iyer c Nitish Rana b A Russell 4(3)

FOUR! Short and outside the off stump. Iyer comfortably cuts it for four.

Gautam Gambhir has scored 1399 runs in IPL at a strike rate of 127.53 at Kolkata which is the most by any player. The former KKR skipper must make the most of his familiarity with the conditions in this steep chsae.

FOUR! Full delivery wide of off stump and Gambhir, leans back and sweetly times it between the covers and point.

Piyush Chawla has now taken 19 wickets against DD in IPL- the third most by any player.

Andre Russell, right arm medium, into the attack.

After 1 overs,Delhi Daredevils 4/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 2 , Shreyas Iyer 0)

Piyush Chawla with the first over in the second innings. Gautam Gambhir comfortably off the mark. But what a way to get Roy’s wicket. Delhi’s best batsman in the last match is now gone and more pressure on captain Gambhir now.

Huge huge blow for Delhi… that’s the early wicket KKR wanted… it’s what the pressure of getting 200-run target does to you… down the ground and bamboozled by Chawla… Roy, Delhi’s big hope is out stumped. Look at the bright side though… if there is one… chance for someone else to shine.

OUT! Brilliant is the word for Karthik. Jason Roy comes out to Chawla and the bowler bowls a quicker one, wide offthe leg stump. Karthik dislodges the bails within a second. Roy st Karthik b Chawla 1(3)

Gautam Gambhir and Jason Roy have come out to bat. 201 to get. Interesting move by Karthik as Piyush Chawla, right arm leg-spin, will bowl the first over.

The highest target successfully chased against KKR in IPL is 203 which was chased by CSK at Chennai earlier in this season.

A competitive score for the hosts. But Delhi have the firepower to chase it down. In their previous fixture against Mumbai, they chased down 195 fairly comfortably. I think Karthik needs to use his spinners carefully here, especially against the likes of Roy, Pant and Maxwell. I won’t be surprised if they straightway start with someone like Narine.

KKR today:

First 10 overs – 85/2 (RR – 8.50)

Next 7 overs – 92/2 (RR – 13.14)

Last 3 overs – 23/5 (RR – 7.67)

KKR’s highest totals in IPL at Kolkata:

200/3 v KXIP, 2010

200/9 v DD, 2018*

195/4 v ROB, 2014

KKR finish at 200/9 then… easy to say Daredevils have conceded atleast 30 more runs than they would have liked to… Nitish Rana looks a star in making while Russell was in belligerent mood today. Delhi will have to mirror this innings… They need a good start and that’s a bare minimum.

After 20 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 200/9 ( Shivam Mavi 0 , )

Good last over by Tewatia, he got three wickets in the last over. Just 1 run from the over. Delhi started with a maiden over and gave 1 in the last. So good start and end in this innings. Off to the chase now, they need 201 runs to win.

OUT! Third wicket for Tewatia. He runs through the lower order as Tom Curran is caught at long-on by Maxwell. Tom Curran c Maxwell b Rahul Tewatia 2(3)

OUT! Rahul Tewatia get another wicket. Piyush Chawla heaves one but ball gets the bottom edge. Catch taken by Pant. Chawla c Pant b Rahul Tewatia 0(3)

OUT! Loose ball and a loose shot by Shubman Gill, who gives a simple catch to cover. Shubman Gill c Chris Morris b Rahul Tewatia 6(5)

Last over of the innings will be bowled by Rahul Tewatia…

After 19 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 199/6 ( Shubman Gill 6 , Tom Curran 1)

Morris into the fourth and last over and he has had an off day, clearly. Not being able to bowl yorkers and his slower ones have been picked well by batsmen. Not the one to Rana in this over, however, as he fell prey to score big runs. He leak 41 runs in 4 overs.

Highest SRs for KKR batsmen in an IPL innings: (Min.30 runs)

341.67 – Andre Russell v DD, Kolkata, 2018*

327.27 – Yusuf Pathan v SRH, Kolkata, 2014

317.64 – Sunil Narine v RCB, Bangalore, 2017

Finally some relief for Delhi. Russell was taking the game away from Gambhir’s boys. 

Meanwhile, that 102-meter six would have reached Babughat if there were no stands. Russell is gradually becoming a six-hitting machine. Amongst the 12 balls he faced, six went out of the park. 

KKR should reach 200 from here.

OUT! A great innings comes to an end. Rana departs trying to hit the slower one to extra cover but could not connect it. Gautam Gambhir takes the catch. Nitish Rana c Gambhir b Chris Morris 59(35)

FOUR! Morris goes full and wide, Rana smashes it to backward point for four.

Russell misses out but Rana has his fifty… dare I say he is one of the prime contenders for India to try out at No 6… say in Ireland T20s? Hits big, bowls spin and bats left handed… what more can you ask?

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 188/4 ( Nitish Rana 55, Shubman Gill 5)

Boult is back and Delhi gets the big wicket of Russell. Huge sigh of relief for Gautam Gambhir. Shubman Gill is the next man in and he got off to good start with a pull to boundary.

FOUR! Yorker bowled to but Rana smartly guides it four four o third man boundary. Very intelligent.

FOUR! Boult pitches it short and Shubman Gill pulls it four to mid-wicket.

OUT! Boult hits the timber. That is a yorker and Russell had no answer to this one. A Russell b Boult 41(12)

FIFTY! Rana taps one for single and completes half-century.

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 177/4 ( Nitish Rana 49 , Andre Russell 41)

Shami is back to bowl his last over and yet again Russell goes big from the word go. Three sixes in the over and 50-run partnership between Russell and Rana.

Okay, carnage is now too random a word for this… this is serial hitting… the ease with which Russell has taken Delhi apart is astonishing. 102m that last six… and Eden is a big big ground… one was wondering if KKR will manage 150-160. They should easily get 200 now. And just I type this… Russell has mishit one for .. yes… six!

Ok, the Russell show is on here. That straight six off Shami has been the shot of the match so far for me. The drop catch by Jason Roy is already proving costly for Delhi. If Russell stays till the 18th or 19th overs, KKR will cross the 200-run mark.

SIX! Well, well, well. Short ball. Russell clears his front leg and heaves it. The ball takes the edge and it still travels bryonf the ropes. Sigh.

SIX! That’s the biggest of them all. On good length and the ball goes staright over the mid-wicket.

This is carnage… Delhi’s good work at the start of innings being undone here. Shami and Morris have gone for runs. You have to wonder if the extra pace on ball is helping the batsmen at this stage of the innings..

SIX! Full and just where Russell wanted it. He smashes it over the point region for a flat six.

We are back from strategic time out. Shami back on.

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 157/4 ( Nitish Rana 48 , Andre Russell 22)

Morris back on and Rana goes big on the very first ball. He then hits a four on the third ball. KKR suddenly looking very dangerous. Can tell you as I have busy writing and explaining SIX and FOUR for the last two overs.

Andre Russell has hit the most number of sixes in this IPL so far – 16.

FOUR! Slower one from Morris but a tad bit short, giving room for Rana who glides the ball over the point region for boundary.

SIX! Morris pitches it short, Rana rocks back and pulls one for six.

Rana holding centre stage while Russell goes big…. This is poor stuff from Shami. Feeding Russell where he likes it.

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 145/4 ( Nitish Rana 37 , Andre Russell 21)

Shami into his 3rd over and what a carnage we saw from Russell. 3 sixes in the over and many mor to come, we guess.

SIX! Carnage as Russell clears fron foot to hit this one over the mid-wicket. Eden Gardens has rise up and screaming the lungs out.

SIX! Russell was dropped on the last ball but that does not make a difference. He hits one again to long-off and strikes a pose.

DROPPED! Russell goes big again, did not connect well and Roy running from long-on dived to catch it but lost balance.

SIX! Russell is here with a six. He cuts a rising delivery to third man, using the pace.

Andre Russell’s strike rate of 179.11 in IPL- the highest for any batsman with a cut-off of 300 runs.

That wicket was always coming. With a little more than six overs to go, KKR needed to press the accelerator and DK was trying to do that. Now a lot will depend on Russell’s performance in this final half of the innings. Whereas another wicket here can change the course of the match. But I must say, Rana is playing a nice little hand here.

Shami continues.

Andre Russell is the next man in.

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 123/4 ( Nitish Rana 36 , Andre Russell 0)

Chris Morris into his second over. Two beautiful strokes by Karthik in the mid-wicket region, he perishes at the same region trying to play the same shot. Rana however hit a six on the penultimate ball of the over to balance the over.

Another wicket for DD… Morris was starting to take some beating but then dismisses Karthik. Four down now for 117… KKR need someone to make a bit of acceleration towards the end. Is Russell the guy to do it?

SIX! Nitish Rana shows no respect. Full delivery and Rana picks it beautifully and bludgeoned it for six over long-on.

OUT! Oh life! Two beautiful strokes, to the same region and Karthik falls on the third ball exactly at that region- the midwicket. Karthik c Boult b Chris Morris 19(10)

FOUR! Repeat of the last shot. Sheer timing by KKR captain as he flicks it to mid-wicket again.

FOUR! On pads and Karthik flicks it to vacant mid-wicket region. Bread and butter for him.

Chris Morris returns

Most matches to score 3000 runs in IPL:

156 – DINESH KARTHIK*

131 – MS Dhoni

121 – Robin Uthappa 

118 – Virat Kohli 

115 – AB de Villiers

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 108/3 ( Nitish Rana 29 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 11)

Mohammed Shami with another over and he trapped Karthik on the very first ball. But Karthik instantly asked for a DRS which eventually saved him. Shami has been on target in this match thus far. He has been pitching the ball at good length and also mixing it well with slower ones, especially to left-handed Nitish Rana. We have also seen the use of knuckle ball in this over.

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 102/3 ( Nitish Rana 27 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 7)

Vijay Shankar into his first over and he was treated with a boundary on the second ball itself. Then hit for a six on the fourth ball. Not a great over for Delhi.

Shami strikes in his first over. What a comeback for him at the Eden Gardens! With long off and long on in place, that was a poor shot selection by Lynn at this juncture of the match.

Meanwhile, it seems like a fresh strip, but the pitch seems to have some grip for the slow bowlers, which is not a bad news for KKR. They have three quality spin options. But as mentioned earlier, we are expecting dew in the second half. So, KKR at least need to reach 180-190 from here.

SIX! Karthik off the mark with a six, comes out and heaves it to mid-wicket, ball takes the top edge but it has enough power to go to stands.

FOUR! Shankar hit for four as he pays for bowling a short ball. Rana again with a pull shot.

Trivia: Mohammed Shami has not picked up a three-wicket haul in his IPL career yet. He has a good opportunity to do so at his ‘home’ ground.

Vijay Shankar, right arm medium, into the attack now.

Shami with the big breakthrough… Chris Lynn is gone. He is always dangerous as long as he is at the crease… two wickets in four overs for KKR… their innings is faltering a bit. Needs a bit of energy if they are to breach 170-180. Then again, is this a 150-160 pitch instead? Remains to be seen.

Shahbaz Nadeem conceding 40-plus runs in an IPL match:

44/0 v PW, Delhi, 2012 

42/0 v MI, Visakhaptanam, 2016

43/1 v KKR, Kolkata, 2018*

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 90/3 ( Nitish Rana 22 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 0)

Mohammed Shami introduced into the attack. Lynn was trying to hit every ball out of the ground and that made him lose his wicket cheaply. KKR scoring well but fall of wickets at regular interval not doing a great deal of help to them.

OUT! Lynn goes. He was trying to hit every ball and that has led to his fall. Smashes one straight to long-on where Jason Roy dives forward to take the catch. Chris Lynn c Roy b Shami 31(29)

Nitish Rana off the gate in a flash…. survives an lbw shout. DD have lost their DRS review. Come to think of it, we haven’t really seen a team struggle for the loss of DRS reviews.

Mohammed Shami, right arm medium, comes into the attack.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 85/2 ( Chris Lynn 28 , Nitish Rana 21)

Nadeem continues and he has been very very eerie in this over. Rana making good use of this poor bowling. Close call of LBW on the final ball of the over but the ball was missing the stumps.

DRS overturned.

Appeal for LBW. Umpire turns it down. DRS taken by Gambhir.

FOUR! Cheeky from Rana. Peddles the ball to the fine leg for four.

SIX! Rana comes out and smashes it between midwicket and long-on.Good attempt at the boundary but to no avail.

Nadeem is into the attack…

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 71/2 ( Chris Lynn 27 , Nitish Rana 8)

Tewatia with another over. He was bowling good lines but one mistake in the over and got hit for a six. Rana has been good this season and the sooner Delhi sees his back, the better it is.

SIX! Full ball. Nitish Rana sees the opportunity and seizes the opportunity, sits and hits it to midwicket boundary for a huge one.

Nitish Rana’s last nine innings in IPL:

8, 3, 19, 27, 9, 12, 34, 16, 18

Rahul Tewatia continues…

Slower delivery from Nadeem gets Uthappa… that’s cleverly bowled… and a second wicket for Daredevils. Just when KKR were looking to get away, they have been pegged back. Pitch seems to be gripping!

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 64/2 ( Chris Lynn 27 , Nitish Rana 1)

Gambhir gave the ball again to Nadeem despite him going for huge runs in his last over and the risk has been paid off. That shows his trust in the bowler. Good over and comeback by Daredevils.

Nitish Rana comes to bat.

OUT! Same shot by Uthappa which almost got him out in the last over. Tried sweep shot for a six but the ball takes the bottom edge and flies in the air. Nadeem completes the catch. Revenge taken. Uthappa c and b Nadeem 35(19)

Gambhir sticks to Nadeem despite him getting the stick in his last over.

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 60/1 ( Chris Lynn 25 , Robin Uthappa 34)

Rahul Tewatia into the attack and he was welcomed with a huge six by Uthappa who is looking dangerous with every ball. There was a chance on the fourth ball of the over as a bottom edge went up in the air but landed safely.

A miscue shot by Uthappa falling between the short fine leg and short third man.

SIX! Uthappa sweeps it to six to square leg. He is in that sort of a mood today.

Rahul Tewatia, right arm leg-break, is into the attack.

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 50/1 ( Chris Lynn 23 , Robin Uthappa 26)

Nadeem was poor in the last over. A huge six and two fours. He was either too full or too short. Needs to get his act right and soon.

FOUR! Again short in length and Uthappa cuts it for a boundary.

FOUR! Short ball and Uthappa hits it over the bowler’s head. The runs are coming now.

SIX! Uthappa special this time as he sits and hits it to mid-wicket.

Chris Lynn starting to get into the attack mode… back to back fours to clobber Boult… and Uthappa added another… that’s three fours in one over… expensive!

Shahbaz Nadeem continues…

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 32/1 ( Chris Lynn 23 , Robin Uthappa 8)

Trent Boult bowls his third over on the trot. Interesting move by Gambhir as he is lookng for wicket. And that’s a good mindset to have. But Lynn got two boundaries to end the over.

FOUR! And another one. A boundary helped by power and poor fielding as Lynn hits is straight again but Morris makes a mess of it at long-on.

FOUR! This time Boult comes from round the wicket. Lynn moves front leg and hits it straight to the boundary. No chance to get that one.

FOUR! Full and a little too straight to Uthappa, who smashes his over the bowlers head.

Robin Uthappa has scored 551 runs against DD in IPL at a strike rate of 123.82 – the fourth most by any player.

Trent Boult into his third over.

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 19/1 ( Chris Lynn 15 , Robin Uthappa 3)

Shahbaz Nadeem into the attack, replacing Morris. The idea is to ask Lynn to hit the spinner. He did hit him through the covers for a boundary. But Gambhir would not be too concerned about it. Nadeem manages a leading edge off the last ball but it landed on No Man’s Land.

FOUR! Nadeem, round the wicket, brings it back to Lynn who plays inside out for and manages to beat the cover fielder.

Sunil Narine has been dismissed whose SR was 180.98 since IPL 2017 which was the highest for any batsman with a cut-off of 100 balls faced.

Shahbaz Nadeem, left-arm orthodox spin, comes in.

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 12/1 ( Chris Lynn 10 , Robin Uthappa 1)

Trent Boult resumes and he has got rid of Narine. Good awareness by Maxwell in the first slip to get this wicket. We can already see good bounce on this wicket. Lynn finishes a good over for Delhi with a four as consolation.

Not sure if it is a big wicket for DD… but atleast it is the first wicket… Sunil Narine gone for cheap… A bit of a relayed catch… and Maxwell nabs it… You can question why Narine opened today if he didn’t open against SRH. DD were always going to open with pace (read Trent Boult).

FOUR! Room given and Lynn takes full use of it. Slashes it through covers for a boundary.

OUT! Spectacular catch by Glenn Maxwell at first slip. Ball takes the edge and Keeper Pant could not hold on to the rising ball. It deflects from his gloves and Maxwell was alert to catch it. Narine c Maxwell b Boult 1(4)

Sunil Narine back at the top. Not sure how sensible this move is, especially against the likes of Boult and Morris. They should have sent Gill to open the innings. KKR need a big score here as dew is once again going to be a big factor in the second half.

Boult continues…

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 7/0 ( Chris Lynn 6 , Sunil Narine 1)

Chris Morris with the second over. Narine off the mark on the first ball. Lynn is unnecessarily heaving the bat. He connects one for a six but he wants a six on every ball. Not possible to make that happen. Need to get his eye in first.

SIX! Typical Lynn. Clears front leg and heaves it to mid-wicket. BANG!

Chris Morris, right arm pace, comes into the attack from another end.

After 1 over, Kolkata Knight Riders 0/0 ( Chris Lynn 0 , Sunil Narine 0)

Trent Boult with the first over, over the wicket to Lynn. Gambhir has a gully placed in for Lynn and Boult hits the deck, moves the ball away from Lynn, who taps the ball to the same Gully fielder. Boult is pushing into 140s. Almost had Lynn’s edge of the fourth ball. Lynn moved his left leg to hit it inside out but missed it totally. Maiden over to start the proceedings.

One change for the Daredevils… Chris Morris back in for Dan Christian. Tim Curran in place of Mitchell Johnson for KKR. And just as I type this… Sunil Narine comes out to bat… 

It has been a long away schedule for the Daredevils… so they need to build on that win against Mumbai Indians…

Trent Boult, left-arm pace, into the attack.