Narine stars as Knight Riders beat Capitals in low-scoring match

The Knight Riders suffered defeat to table-toppers Chennai Super Kings last time out but, thanks to the all-round efforts of Sunil Narine, hit back in a low-scoring affair to move into a playoff spot.

Delhi were restricted to 127-9 after being put in to bat. Despite Steve Smith (39) steadying the ship, with the Australian top-scoring alongside Rishabh Pant, Kolkata ripped through their opponents' batting line-up.

Narine claimed 2-18 from four economical overs, while there were also two wickets apiece for Lockie Ferguson and Venkatesh Iyer.

KKR chased down that score with relative ease in the end, albeit only after surviving a bit of a scare early on in their response.

Iyer and Rahul Tripathi departed inside the powerplay for 14 and nine respectively, though Shubman Gill (30) anchored the innings, his runs coming from 33 deliveries.

Skipper Eoin Morgan fell to Ravichandran Ashwin for a duck before Dinesh Karthik followed for 12, leaving the score at 96-5.

The loss of Narine (21) raised the prospect of late drama, but Nitish Rana (36 not out) got his side over the line for a potentially huge victory in the context of the campaign.

Sunil's making it a habit and we're loving it! #KKRvDC #KKR #AmiKKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #আমিKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/tHgX4iFmTx

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 28, 2021

Narine was named player of the match after an impressive cameo of 21 off 10 balls – including two sixes and one four – to swing the contest back firmly in KKR's favour.

"Batting in the middle order is challenging," Narine said. "It's pleasing to see hard work paying off after a long time. I think we are playing some good cricket."

Avesh Khan took three wickets, conceded just 13 runs and had an economy rate of 4.33 runs per over. The 24-year-old has now picked up at least one wicket in all but one game this season, though it was not enough to help Delhi find a way to prevail.