Chakravarthy, Rana and Narine star in KKR’s win over DC

Abu Dhabi, Oct 24 : Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s five-wicket haul and scintillating half-centuries from Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine combined to hand Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) a valuable 59-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match and remained in fray to qualify for the playoffs.
The win gives KKR a boost to their net run rate as they look to fend off challenges from SunRisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals below them in the race for the final playoff spot.
Rana scored 81 off 53 balls while Narine scored 64 off 32 balls to push KKR’s score to 194/6 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, DC ended up at 135/9 in 20 overs.
Chakravarthy first dismissed Rishabh Pant in the 12th over, who along with DC captain Shreyas Iyer were going big and fixing the damage caused by Pat Cummins’s opening spell. During the innings, Pant completed 100 sixes in his IPL career. Having done so in 1,224 balls, he is the fastest Indian to have reached the milestone, beating the record set by Yusuf Pathan, who had done that in 1,308 balls.
Chakravarthy then got Shimron Hetmyer and Shreyas off consecutive balls in the 14th before getting Marcus Stoinis in his next. Axar Patel fell in the same over to complete Chakravarthy’s five-wicket haul. His 5/20 is the best figures for a bowler this season.