The Delhi Capitals (DC) bounced back in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 with a victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 44 runs on Sunday at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.   

The Delhi Capitals posted a mammoth total of 215-5, thanks to attacking fifties at the top from Prithvi Shaw and David Warner, before Kuldeep Yadav's superb 4-wicket haul secured a resounding victory for DC.

Chasing a huge target of 216, KKR openers got to a shaky start after Rahane survived twice in the first over. Venkatesh Iyer thumped two sixes against Shardul Thakur in the second over. 

However, the KKR openers were back in the hut inside the powerplay. Khaleel Ahmed scalped two wickets after Venkatesh was caught by Axar Patel while Rahane was out to a fine running catch by Shardul Thakur. 

KKR were 43-2 at the end of 6 overs as skipper Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana had a tough task ahead of themselves. Rana and Iyer formed a quick fifty-run partnership after collectively smacking three sixes.  

At the halfway stage, KKR were 91-2 and required 125 from 60 deliveries. Lalit Yadav put an end to the partnership after Rana was caught by Shaw at long-on. 

Skipper Iyer reached his half century with consecutive sixes but was stumped in the same over as Kuldeep Yadav claimed his first wicket. 

Sam Billings, who was the new batter in, began his innings with a four and a six as KKR needed 85 off 36 deliveries.

Khaleel Ahmed claimed his third wicket of the innings after Billings was dismissed in the 15^th over. Three wickets fell in the 16^th over, bowled by Kuldeep Yadav, who dismissed Cummins, Narine and Umesh Yadav, which also included a fine running catch off his own bowling. 

KKR were 8 down and required 57 off the final two overs.

Thakur wrapped up the innings by scalping the remaining two wickets of Andre Russell and Rasikh Salam in the final over.

Earlier, DC, who were put in to bat first, made one change – Khaleel Ahmed replaced Anrich Nortje in the eleven. 

Prithvi Shaw kicked off the innings in style with three fours as DC raced to 34/0 in the first three overs. 

The right-handed batter smacked the first six of the innings in the 4^th over. David Warner jumped on the bandwagon with three fours and a six as the fifty partnership was up for the opening wicket. 

DC were in a commanding position with 68/0 after 6 overs. The DC openers were striking with more than ten an over as Shaw notched his second consecutive half-century of the season off just 27 deliveries. 

KKR finally claimed their first wicket after Chakaravarthy’s delivery crashed into the stumps, bringing an end to Shaw’s innings of 51 off just 29 deliveries.  

The breakthrough however did not affect DC’s scoring rate as skipper Rishabh Pant began his innings with two fours and a six. 24 runs came off the 11^th over, bowled by Chakaravarthy as runs continued to flow freely from DC batters. 

Pant smacked a six straight down the ground against Cummins but the DC skipper was caught by Umesh Yadav in the deep. Warner, on the other hand, reached his first fifty of the season with a six. 

KKR claimed two quick wickets after Narine dismissed Lalit Yadav and Rovman Powell as DC were 162/4 with four overs to go. 

Umesh Yadav brought an end to Warner’s knock of 61 after the opener was caught at deep mid-wicket. 

Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel provided the perfect finish to the innings as DC hammered 23 runs in the penultimate over. Thakur clobbered two maximums while Axar smashed a four and a six each.

Thakur wrapped the innings with a six on the final delivery as DC posted 215/5 in the first innings.  

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 215-5 (David Warner 61, Prithvi Shaw 51; Sunil Narine 2-21) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 171 all out (Shreyas Iyer 54, Nitish Rana 30; Kuldeep Yadav 4-35) by 44 runs.