Sharjah: A scintillating batting performance by Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant powered Delhi Capitals to post a mammoth total of 228 runs in their allotted 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Shreyas smashed a well made 88 off just 38 balls while Pant slammed 38 runs in 17 balls as Delhi Capitals set a target of 229 runs for KKR.
Asked to bat first, Delhi Capitals got off to a flyer with the team scoring more than fifty runs in the powerplay. Both the openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shaw started well, whacking sixes and fours at regular intervals.
However, Dhawan’s rampage came to an end after he top-edged the ball high in the air and Eoin Morgan took a perfect catch in the sixth over.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer then joined Shaw and dominated the KKR bowling attack. Shaw smashed four sixes before Kamlesh Nagarkoti ended his stint at the crease in the 13th over.
Rishabh Pant then joined skipper Shreyas in the middle and the duo bludgeoned the KKR bowling attack with their fabulous batting performance. The dup slammed 18 runs in the 16th over and 17 runs in the 17th over.
Meanwhile, Shreyas also completed his fastest half-century in IPL. Delhi Capitals crossed the 200 run mark in the 18th over courtesy Pant’s splendid innings. Andre Russell ended Pant’s knock in the 18th over. The left-handed batsman smashed 38 runs off 17 balls.
Marcus Stoinis came in to bat ahead of Shimron Hetmyer in the death overs but failed to leave a mark. Meanwhile, Shreyas continued his onslaught on KKR bowlers. However, a good final over by Russell restricted Delhi Capitals to 288/4.
For KKR, Russell picked two while Chakravarthy and Nagarkoti scalped one wicket each.