IPL : DUGOUT NEWS

Delhi Capitals achieved the target with six balls to spare. Except for skipper Shreyas Iyer (42), the Kolkatta Knight Riders' top-order struggled to go against the Capitals' bowlers at the Wankhede Stadium. Kuldeep Yadav was the most impressive bowler, who took 4/14 runs in three overs. Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets in a brilliant final over. 

Opener David Warner blasted 42 off 26 balls for DC and gave a stand of 65-run along with Lalit Yadav. However, Rovman Powell, whose 33 off 16, helped the team seal the victory. Before him, Axar Patel's 24 in an attacking way helped the lower middle-order to flex their batting muscles and claim the win. 

PANT'S DECISION ON NOT TO GIVE KULDEEP HIS LAST OVER 

Kuldeep Yadav's 4/14 cruised Delhi Capitals to the fourth win; however, he didn't bowl his final over! Kuldeep got the wickets of Baba Indrajith and Sunil Narine on successive deliveries in the eighth over. Kuldeep dismissed Andre Russell as the batter charged down the track to play a big shot but missed it, and Pant did the rest of the work to send the West Indies all-rounder to the dugout. Kuldeep bowled just three overs in the match despite having the opportunity to bag a maiden five-wicket haul.

"Kuldeep Yadav not finishing his quota will be one of the biggest mysteries this season. Four wickets in three overs. #IPL2022," tweeted Aakash Chopra.

Pant explained that he had to bring in the pace bowlers during the slog overs after the ball wet. With the excellent spell against KKR, Kuldeep accumulated 17 wickets in eight games this season, one wicket behind Indian spin twin Yuzvendra Chahal's race for IPL 2022 Purple cap. 

Chetan Sakariya too bowled just three overs!

Playing his first game of the season for Delhi Capitals, left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya struck early to remove Kolkata Knight Riders' opener. Despite returning with the figures of 1/17 in his three-over and being efficient, Sakariyan couldn't bowl his fourth over. The captain decided to choose experienced Mustafizur to bowl the final over. Mustafizur provided great justice to Pant's decision as he took three wickets in the last over.

However, Delhi's off-spinner Lalit Yadav failed to create an impact as he got pretty expensive with the ball. The spinner bowled just three overs in which he conceded 32 runs with a poor economy of 20.6, which disappointed many. 

SWEET revenge: Kuldeep Yadav haunts KKR

In a clash against his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep Yadav earned the Player of the Match award for weaving an award-winning spell. The chinaman bowler grabbed the second four-wicket haul against the franchise this season. In the first match against KKR, he scalped four wickets after conceding 35 runs in 4 overs, whereas, in the second encounter, he took four wickets by giving away just 14 runs in 3 overs and helped restrict the opposition to 146/9 in 20 overs. 

Amit Mishra tweeted in praise of the bowler, "Great bowling by @imkuldeep18 and other Delhi Capitals bowlers. Really feels amazing to see a spinner helping his team and dominating a match. Way to go #KKRvDC #TATAIPL."

Freefall for the former champions as newbies fly

IPL's most successful teams: Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, are staring at early exits in the tournament as newbies find their spots in the top 4. The three champion teams are languishing at the bottom of the table.

Mumbai Indians have failed to win one match out of the eight and are the first team to be knocked out of the race for playoffs. Chennai Super Kings, too, have managed to win just 2 out of the eight matches played. To qualify for playoffs from here, they will have to win all of the six remaining with significant margins. KKR, having a decent start, had a free fall from top 4 to seventh place after losing five consecutive matches. They have won 3 out of the nine games and are in a difficult spot. 

While champions are lingering at the bottom, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Royal Challengers Bangalore have competitive play in the top 4.