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Impactful innings by Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 204/9 in their 20 overs against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the iconic Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
After being asked to bat first by DC skipper Axar Patel, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine opened the innings for KKR. Narine took on DC bowler Dushmantha Chameera, smashing him for 26 runs in the second over. Gurbaz followed his partner's aggressive intent, hammering veteran pacer Mitchell Starc for 17 runs in the third over before being dismissed by him on the last delivery. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane then joined Narine at the crease. KKR brought up their 50 in the fourth over and ended the powerplay strongly at 79/1, with Narine unbeaten on 26 and Rahane on 21. Soon after the powerplay, debutant Vipraj Nigam dismissed Narine for 27 off 16 balls, an innings that included two fours and two sixes. Angkrish Raghuvanshi then joined Rahane in the middle. DC skipper Axar Patel removed Rahane for 26 off 14 balls, which included four boundaries and a six. Venkatesh Iyer then walked in. KKR brought up their 100 in the ninth over, following two sixes by Raghuvanshi off Vipraj. Axar struck again in the 10th over, dismissing Iyer for 7 off 5 deliveries. Rinku Singh then joined Raghuvanshi. In the 15th over, Rinku took on veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav, scoring 17 runs and helping KKR cross the 150-run mark. The duo added 51 runs in 39 balls for the fifth wicket. KKR were 167/4 at the end of the 16th over. Raghuvanshi's fine innings came to an end in the 17th over when Chameera dismissed him for 44 off 32 balls, including three fours and two sixes. Andre Russell then joined Rinku at the crease, but Vipraj struck again in the 18th over to dismiss Rinku for 36 off 25 balls, an innings that featured three fours and a six. Rovman Powell partnered Russell for the final two overs. KKR crossed the 200-run mark in the last over, courtesy of a six by Russell on the first ball. However, DC struck back, with Starc removing Powell and Anukul Roy in consecutive deliveries. Russell was run out by Abhishek Porel on the penultimate ball. KKR lost three wickets in the final over and finished at 204/9. For DC, Mitchell Starc (3/43) was the pick of the bowlers. Vipraj Nigam (2/41) and Axar Patel (2/27) picked up two wickets each, while Dushmantha Chameera (1/43) took one. Mukesh Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav went wicketless. Brief score: Kolkata Knight Riders 204/9 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 44, Rinku Singh 36; Mitchell Starc 3/43) vs Delhi Capitals. (ANI)
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