Kolkata Knight Riders repented their decision to play one less specialist bowler on Thursday as the Delhi Capitals defeated them by four wickets at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. With the win, Rishabh Pant and co keep their playoff hopes alive and KKR, on the other hand, are struggling at the eighth rung of the points table with five consecutive losses. 

Shreyas Iyer went with four specialist bowlers against DC. He had to compensate for the fifth one by handing an over each to Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana. The three gave away 42 runs in three overs amongst themselves. 

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Chasing a target of 147 runs, the Delhi Capitals saw Rovman Powell rescue them from 84/5 and take the 2020 finalists over the line with one over to spare. The West Indies batter was unbeaten at 33 runs off 16 balls with the help of a boundary and three sixes. David Warner shined at the top with 42 runs off 26 balls. However, the real hero for DC was Kuldeep Yadav, who recorded figures of 4/14 in the first innings. 

Yadav, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders until last season, gave his former side a nightmare by picking the key wickets of skipper Shreyas Iyer and dangerman Russell. 

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For KKR, Nitish Rana top-scored with 57 runs off 34 balls. Shreyas Iyer made 42. R

ana’s partnership of 62 for the seventh wicket with Rinku Singh (23 off 16 balls) proved to be a saving grace after the two-time champions slumped to 83 for six at one stage.

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Coming out to defend 146 runs, Umesh Yadav picked Prithvi Shaw on the first ball of the second innings. He finished with 3/24. 

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders: 146/9 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 42, Nitish Rana 57; Kuldeep Yadav 4/14, Mustafizur Rahman 3/18).

Delhi Capitals: 150/6 in 19 overs (David Warner 42; Umesh Yadav 3/24).