Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer attempted to hold fort alone as he saw the top-order batting lineup crumble at the opposite end of the crease. After 12 overs KKR was at 72 with a loss of 4 wickets.

Two of the three changes Kolkata Knight Riders made today, did not pay off. Australian opener Aaron Finch was the first to fall to Delhi Capitals‘ debutant Chetan Sakariya. Soon after Venkatesh Iyer gave away his wicket to Axar Patel which was caught at short fine leg by Sakariya.

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More bad news followed for KKR in the 8th over when DC skipper Rishabh Pant called on Kuldeep Yadav to bowl. He was only left only one wicket short of a hattrick as he dismissed Baba Indrajith and Sunil Narine in successive deliveries. Even though Narine appealed for a review of his leg-before-wicket dismissal, the original decision was sustained.

Despite the pitch reading as a batter-friendly, big-hitting one, Iyer admittedly wanted to be the one to field first, given the opportunity. “I would have looked to bowl as well because of the chasing history. But the dew has gone out completely and it is very humid as well. I feel the players have to stand up for themselves and take responsibility to finish games off themselves,” he said.

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After winning the toss, Pant on the other hand was happy with the decision they went with, “The wicket looks on the drier side, and dew might come in the latter half,” he said.

The gamble of giving Sakariya the DC cap paid off for Pant and co. It is now up to the middle-order KKR batters and the bowlers in the next innings to clinch a victory for their team, if possible.