IPL 2017 Highlights, KKR vs DD in Kolkata, cricket score and updates: Uthappa, Gambhir guide KKR to 7-wicket win

'Clinical' is the word we use often to describe a #KKR win. It wasn't any different today. Well oiled unit. Good as gold. #KKRvDD #IPL

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 28, 2017

Gautam Gambhir named the Man of the Match for his brilliant 71 off 52 balls. And in a fantastic gesture, donates the prize money to the families of the CRPF personnel killed in the Sukma attack.

Gautam Gambhir takes back the Orange Cap. He is the highest run-getter in the tournament at the moment with 376 runs.

Clinical performance at Eden!#Gambhir and #Uthappa played their part perfectly as we continued our prime form in #IPL2017.#AmiKKR #KKRvDD pic.twitter.com/E83Bsbnjnt

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 28, 2017

Too easy for us in the end!
We chase the target of 161 in 16.2 overs. Great job, #Knights! 👏 #DusKiDahaad #AmiKKR #KKRvDD

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 28, 2017

One of the stories of the #IPL is how #KKR have mastered the new conditions at the Eden having been the kings of the earlier slow surface

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 28, 2017

That was an exhibition of power and form from #KKR. Not just @robbieuthappa but @GautamGambhir making a statement.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 28, 2017

The purple brigade rolls on. Another comprehensive win for KKR. The good thing for them is that they are not only winning, but winning comfortably. And on the few occasions when they had to exert themselves in tight situations, they are doing it. Such is the depth of the squad that they can rotate their players and yet maintain their winning momentum, and what’s more Shakib Al Hasan – one of the premier all-rounders in the world – is not even getting a look in. Uthappa may have benefited from a horrendous mix-up between the Delhi fielders but at the end of the day, credit has to be given where it is due. The way Uthappa tore the Delhi bowlers to shreds would make any opposition scared. And no praise is enough for Gautam Gambhir – the batsman and captain. If there is anything called leading by example, Gambhir has to be one of its greatest ambassadors. KKR is looking, in every way, top draw.

This is the third consecutive win for Kolkata Knight Riders and the fourth consecutive defeat for Delhi Daredevils in this IPL. Moreover, Kolkata Knight Riders have won their last 12 matches while chasing at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in IPL. 

Most runs by captains in IPL:

3311 – GAUTAM GAMBHIR*

3270 – MS Dhoni 

2872 – Virat Kohli 

Fourth successive defeat and DD’s season has now been completely derailed. This loss will cost them quite a bit. Zaheer Khan looks injured and could be a doubt for future games. The fielding was shoddy, to put it mildly. Most of all, their team composition and balance has been completely shown up all over again. 

After 16.2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 161/3 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 71 , Sheldon Jackson 12)

Kolkata Knight Riders win by 7 wickets! 

A four and a wide! That’s all that it takes for Gambhir to bring up a comfortable seven-wicket win for the Knight Riders, who further consolidate their position at the top of the table with their seventh win of the tournament!

Gautam Gambhir becomes the third player to score 4000 runs in IPL after Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. 

Least innings to score 4000 runs in IPL:

128 – Virat Kohli 

140 – Suresh Raina, GAUTAM GAMBHIR*

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 156/3 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 67 , Sheldon Jackson 12)

Jackson, playing his first match of the ongoing tournament, gets off the mark with a stylish punch on the backfoot through point, beating a diving Cummins. Gambhir then brings up the 150 with a push through the gap to the right of extra-cover. Another pull in the last ball of the over that runs away to the leg side. 16 off the over, and KKR are on the brink of a win now! 

KKR need 5 to win from 24 balls.

Indian players scoring 6000-plus runs in T20 cricket:

Suresh Raina 

Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma 

GAUTAM GAMBHIR*

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 140/3 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 62 , Sheldon Jackson 1)

Rabada back into the attack, and he has been one unlucky man so far, with an opportunity to get Uthappa dismissed on 9 being put down by Mishra and Samson. But the man bowls a superb over to somewhat peg KKR’s progress, castling Pandey with a 146 kmph-bolt, while giving away just two runs in this over. Second timeout called at the end of this over. 

KKR need 21 to win from 30 balls.

BOWLED EM! Rabada strikes for the second time in the innings, and once again smashes the stumps, angling the ball into Pandey and getting a deflection onto the wickets off his pad. Pandey was beaten for pacer here, with the delivery measuring 146 kmph.  KKR 139/3

Pandey b Rabada 5(4)

Most fifty-plus scores while chasing in IPL:

20 – GAUTAM GAMBHIR*

19 – David Warner

12 – Ajinkya Rahane

12 – Rohit Sharma

Players involved in most 100-plus stands in IPL:

17 – Virat Kohli

15 – Chris Gayle

14 – GAUTAM GAMBHIR*

12 – David Warner

11 – AB de Villiers/ Shikhar Dhawan

10 – ROBIN UTHAPPA*

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 138/2 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 61 , Manish Pandey 5)

Back-to-back boundaries for Gambhir in Mishra’s third over, sweeping one towards fine-leg before going for a well-placed cut through backward point in the subsequent delivery. Gambhir completes 4,000 IPL runs with a single in the penultimate ball of the over, with new batsman Manish Pandey helping himself to his first boundary with a pull at the end of the over. 

KKR need 23 to win from 36 balls.

4,000 IPL runs up for Gautam Gambhir as he moves to 61 with a single in the 14th over of the innings! KKR 134/2

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 125/2 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 52 , Manish Pandey 1)

FOUR! Anderson into his third over, and is greeted with a flamboyant pull towards midwicket by the KKR captain! The latter tries setting off for a quick single in the next delivery, and uthappa is caught well short of his crease at the striker’s end, which finally ends his entertaining stay at the crease at the 59-run mark. Gambhir brings up his second-consecutive boundary with a dab towards deep backward point. 

KKR need 36 to win from 42 balls.

FOUR! Now Gambhir gets to his half-century, and does so with a late cut towards the backward point boundary! Gets there in 39 balls! KKR 124/2

Run out was the only way Delhi could have got Uthupa. But by now he's got them battered and virtually beaten

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 28, 2017

OUT! Gambhir tries setting off for a quick single, and Uthappa is caught well short of his ground at the other end, thanks to a brilliant direct hit! Finally brings the 2nd-wicket partnership to an end! Superb work by Karun Nair at backward point. KKR 117/2

Uthappa run out (Nair) 59(33)

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 113/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 41 , Robin Uthappa (W) 59)

Mishra into his second over. Half-hearted appeal for a caught-behind by DD keeper Pant as KKR counterpart Uthappa looked to go for a late cut. Uthappa goes down on one knee and smashes the fourth ball of the over down towards long-on for a big one to bring up the 100-stand for the 2nd wicket. 

KKR need 48 to win from 48 balls.

SIX! Uthappa, who is in dream form at the moment, gets down on one knee and slogs the fourth ball of the 12th over with a slog down towards long-on! Brings up the 100-stand for the 2nd wicket in the process! KKR 113/1

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 104/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 39 , Robin Uthappa (W) 52)

Finally a good over for DD after a few nightmarish ones, with just three singles coming off this over. With the required run-rate now hovering around the six-per-over mark at the moment, the two can afford a breather at the moment by rotating the strike between themselves. 

KKR need 57 to win from 54 balls.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 101/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 37 , Robin Uthappa (W) 51)
 

Anderson introduced into the attack in the 10th over, with KKR appearing to run away with the game at the moment. The team 100 comes up in this over after Gambhir slaps a slow short ball from Anderson towards the cow-corner boundary. Eight off the over. 

Exactly a run-a-ball needed for KKR at the halfway mark in their innings. Nine wickets in hand. And perhaps the most successful pair in the ongoing tournament out there at the moment. You do the math! 

KKR need 60 to win from 60 balls.

Most 50-plus scores by wicket-keepers in IPL:

17 – MS Dhoni, ROBIN UTHAPPA*

13 – Adam Gilchrist 

12 – Dinesh Karthik 

FIFTY for Robin Uthappa, his second-consecutive and fourth of the ongoing tournament! He’s in brilliant form at the moment, and certainly has made superb use of the second life handed to him after getting dropped earlier in the innings. Takes just 24 deliveries to get to the milestone in this innings, compared to 26 in his successful outing against RPS in the previous game. KKR 94/1

Gambhir and Uthupa simply killing it!

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 28, 2017

Uthappa was dropped in KKR’s previous match too, against Rising Pune Supergiant and went on to get a big score. Now he has been dropped again in this match. Possibly the worst drop this season in the IPL. And Delhi are being made to pay through the nose as Uthappa is going bonkers. The Delhi bowlers are being hammered to all parts now. And this game could well be over before you know it. Talk about a costly miss!

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 93/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 31 , Robin Uthappa (W) 49)

Cummins from the other end, and Uthappa goes for another pull off a back-of-length delivery over the midwicket boundary, getting his third six in the process. Goes for a lofted drive down the ground, with the ball flying over Mishra to run off for his fifth boundary. 13 off this over, with KKR now needing a little over a run-a-ball at the moment.

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 80/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 30 , Robin Uthappa (W) 37)

SIX! FOUR! SIX! That’s what Uthappa does to Morris in the latter’s second over of the innings as he looks to make the Daredevils pay for the dropped chance a couple of overs ago by going hammer and tongs in this one. 19 runs are gathered in this over, with the keeper-batsman now racing ahead of Gambhir. Meanwhile, the run-rate has moved to 10 per over.

Of catches dropped this season, one of Uthupa falling between Samson & Mishra so shocking as to be farcical. Pehle aap, pehle aap or wot?

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 28, 2017

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 61/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 29 , Robin Uthappa (W) 19)

Amit Mishra introduced into the attack in the first over after powerplay, and Gambhir dances down the track to loft the ball towards cow-corner in the first ball. Uthappa goes for a late cut in the third ball of the over. Gambhir goes for the lofted drive towards wide long-off to bring up the 50-stand with Uthappa!

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 47/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 20 , Robin Uthappa (W) 14)

Rabada bowls the final over of powerplay, and he loses his balance in the second ball of the over. DROPPED! Uthappa top-edges a back-of-length delivery straight over the square-leg region, and confusion between Mishra and Samson reigns supreme, as the ball lands between the fielders thanks to an utter lack of communication. Four leg-byes and a boundary off Uthappa’s bat follow to rub salt on the wound. 

That could easily rank as the worst drop of the season so far!

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 36/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 18 , Robin Uthappa (W) 9)

Cummins introduced from the other end, with as many as five bowlers being used in the poweplay so far. Uthappa edges a cross-seamer first ball with soft hands, and edges it to the slips, where it falls just short of Morris. Gambhir tucks one away towards the leg-side, beating short fine-leg to get his second boundary. Cummins responds with a back-of-length delivery outside off that narrowly beats his outside edge. Six off the over.

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 30/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 13 , Robin Uthappa (W) 8)

Morris into the attack in the fourth over, and starts off with a delivery that shapes away from Gambhir in the first ball of the over. Stays tight in this over, with just four coming off it.

Delhi Daredevils today:

1-5 overs: 48/1 (RR-9.60)

6-10 overs: 30/0 (RR-6.00)

11-15 overs: 53/1 (RR-10.60)

16-20 overs: 29/4 (RR-5.80)

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 26/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 10 , Robin Uthappa (W) 7)

Zaheer Khan continues, but disaster strikes for Delhi. Looks like Zak has strained his hamstring. He pulled out immediately after bowling the first ball and himself off. Hamstring injuries take time to heal. Not good news for Delhi at all. Corey Anderson will complete the over. Starts with a short and wide one outside off and Gambhir takes full toll, cracking it through point.

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 18/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 4 , Robin Uthappa (W) 5)

The gamble of starting the batting with Narine doesn’t pay off for KKR in this match. No foot movement from Narine as he just swings his bat. That Rabada delivery is fast and shatters Narine’s stumps. Robin Uthappa comes in at the fall of that wicket. He is in great form and straightaway plays a shot through midwicket and it is a boundary. Just turns it off his pads. The fifth delivery is dropped in short and bounces over the batsman, beats the wicketkeeper and runs away to the fence. Ten runs and a wicket from that over.

OUT! Narine cleaned up by Rabada. So much for the experiment of opening with Narine in this game. No footwork from the West Indian and he is clean bowled.

Narine b Rabada 4(4)

After 1 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 8/0 ( Sunil Narine 4 , Gautam Gambhir (C) 3)

Zaheer is getting some early movement as Narine plays and misses the first ball. He then cramps Narine for room. The wily Delhi captain beats Gambhir outside off on the third ball with one moving away. Gambhir goes over the in-field on the next ball but doesn’t time it as well as he would have wanted. Zaheer had taken pace off the ball. The last ball is wide outside off and Narine throws his bat at it. Four!

Kolkata will be mighty happy having restricted Delhi to a score of 160. The way Samson and Nair started, with help from Shreyas Iyer, it seemed Delhi were headed to nothing less than 180. The Delhi innings can be seen in four parts really. An early assault, which was stymied by some good bowling by KKR, and there was a time when Delhi were finding it hard to get boundaries. In fact there wasn’t a boundary for 8.4 overs at one point. There was another spurt in the scoring followed by another deceleration when they lost Samson, Pant and Iyer in quick succession. KKR will fancy themselves to win this one on a pitch good for batting.

New game, old story for DD… lost momentum in the middle overs and never recovered. They really need to revisit this strategy, especially with Sam Billings sitting on the bench. Leaving too much to do at the end and it is simply not recovering. Is 161 going to be enough? Against an in-form KKR, probably not. 

Kolkata Knight Riders have won their last 11 matches while chasing at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in IPL. 

After 20 overs,Delhi Daredevils 160/6 ( Ankit Bawne 12 , Pat Cummins 0)

NCN to bowl the final over. FOUR! Bawne hammers the first ball of the over for a boundary after flicking towards the boundary back of square. Morris perishes while looking to heave the full delivery from NCN towards the off-side, getting caught by Woakes at deep backward point. Just a single off the last ball of the over, with Delhi finishing on a total much lesser than what they would have expected at the halfway mark in the innings. 

Kolkata Knight Riders need 161 to win from 20 overs.

OUT! Superb catch by Woakes at deep backward point, as Morris perishes while looking to heave the full delivery outside off towards the off-side! DD 159/6

Morris c Woakes b Coulter-Nile 11(10)

After 19 overs,Delhi Daredevils 154/5 ( Chris Morris 11 , Ankit Bawne 6)

Woakes returns, and bowls a couple of wide pitched deliveries that beat Bawne, who looks to reach out for a cut. Meanwhile, the team 150 comes up in the second ball of the over after Bawne hoicks the second ball towards the leg side for a couple of runs. Just five off the over, with the visitors failing to score either a four or a six in the last 20 balls.

After 18 overs,Delhi Daredevils 149/5 ( Chris Morris 10 , Ankit Bawne 2)

Narine into his final over, and confusion between Anderson and Morris results in the former getting run-out, for a meagre 2. Ankit Bawne, the new batsman, gets off the mark with a single in the first ball that he faces. Superb over for KKR at this stage, with three runs and a wicket coming off it.

OUT! After surviving twice in the previous over, Anderson gets involved in a terrible mix-up this time, and is well short of the stumps at the striker’s end. DD 146/5

After 17 overs,Delhi Daredevils 146/4 ( Chris Morris 9 , Corey Anderson 2)

Corey Anderson is the new batsman at the crease, and he nearly gets dismissed for a duck after offering Kuldeep a simple return catch that the latter puts down. Another dropped chance in the final ball of the over, though it was a much tougher chance this time for Kuldeep as the Kiwi all-rounder went for a full-blooded drive down the ground this time. Six off the 17th over.

After 16 overs,Delhi Daredevils 140/4 ( Chris Morris 5 , Corey Anderson 0)

Nathan Coulter-Nile returns to the attack at the start of the 16th over, and starts off by trapping Pant lbw with a full delivery along the leg stump. Chris Morris walks out to bat at No 5, perhaps the right step taken by the team management given his hard-hitting abilities, and getting quick runs for the side. NCN makes it two lbws in this over by trapping Iyer leg-before right in front of the off-stump, with nine runs coming off this over in exchange of two wickets.

Sanju Samson scored 30 runs inside powerplay overs at a strike rate of 187.50 today but outside powerplay overs, he scored 30 runs at a strike rate of 136.36.

OUT! Another lbw dismissal in NCN’s first over of his second spell, this time removing Iyer just three short of his half-century! DD suddenly pegged back with two quick wickets, getting reduced to 140/4

Iyer lbw Coulter-Nile 47(34)

OUT! Nathan Coulter-Nile returns to the attack in the 16th over, and starts off by trapping Pant lbw in the very first ball of his new spell! Bowled this one at 131 clicks, which perhaps was slower than what Pant expected as he geared up for a flick towards the leg side. DD 131/3

Pant lbw Coulter-Nile 6(4)

At one time Delhi did not get a boundary for 8.4 overs. The KKR bowlers did well is to choke the opposition and dry up the flow of runs after getting some stick early on. But then there was some aggression by the Delhi batsmen again, but the wicket of Samson came at precisely the right moment, though much against the run of play. KKR will look to restrict Delhi to 180. Won’t be easy though.

After 15 overs,Delhi Daredevils 131/2 ( Shreyas Iyer 43 , Rishabh Pant (W) 6)

Narine into his third over, with Pant walking out to bat after the departure of Samson. The wicketkeeper-batsman powers a cut off a back-of-length delivery outside off to get a boundary in just his second delivery, beating a diving Gambhir stationed at backward point. 

Eight off the over, with DD very much on track right now for a score within the range of 180, though they need the big hits more often now if they plan to get the total beyond 200, which surely would be a winning oneon this pitch.

After 14 overs,Delhi Daredevils 123/2 ( Shreyas Iyer 41 , )

Umesh into his final over. Sloppy work by Yusuf Pathan at deep backward point, palming the ball over the boundary rope after it landed on the practice pitch in front of him, and bounced more than he expected. Flicks the next one towards fine-leg to get back-to-back boundaries. Samson then smashes the penultimate ball over long-on for one of the biggest sixes that you’ll get to see at the colosseum, before getting trapped lbw in the final ball of the over. 15 runs and a wicket it is in this over.

OUT! Umesh finally gets rid of Samson right after the latter smashes him for one of the biggest sixes at the Eden! Gets trapped plumb lbw to depart after bringing up a fine half-century. DD 123/2

Samson lbw Umesh 60(38)

Samson playing a blinder again. But DD need to get a move on here. 42 runs in the last 7 overs isn’t good enough. DD are slow in the middle overs and it can cost them against KKR, a side that chase well. 

After 13 overs,Delhi Daredevils 108/1 ( Sanju Samson 54 , Shreyas Iyer 32)

Colin de Grandhomme, who returned with figures of 3/9 against RCB in his last outing, gets hammered for a four and a six by Iyer, with the latter now hitting the gas pedal after getting off to a slow start. 15 runs scored in the over, with the fifty-partnership coming up in this over. The umpire signals for the second timeout at the end of this over.

After 12 overs,Delhi Daredevils 93/1 ( Sanju Samson 53 , Shreyas Iyer 18)

Kuldeep goes expensive in his third over, going for 10 runs including a six off the first ball. With DD’s run-rate plummeting in the last couple of overs, the two will now look to accelerate the innings even further.

SIX! Sanju Samson continues his fine form in the tournament by bringing up his second fifty-plus score of the tournament (his previous being a century), and does so in style with a pull towards the leg side for a big hit.

After 11 overs,Delhi Daredevils 83/1 ( Sanju Samson 45 , Shreyas Iyer 16)

Umesh into his third over. Leading edge off Iyer’s bat carries just short of stand-in wicketkeeper Jackson in the fourth ball of the voer. Five off the over, with Samson now looking to get to his half-century soon.

After 10 overs,Delhi Daredevils 78/1 ( Sanju Samson 44 , Shreyas Iyer 13)

Narine into his second over. Iyer gets a thick inside edge in the third ball that runs away towards the fine third-man rope, and would have been a boundary had it not been for a superb dive by Pathan. Seven off the over. 

Meanwhile, Jackson takes over the wicketkeeping duties at the moment, with Uthappa temporarily leaving the field. On the other hand, tv replays now show some disturbance on the snicko in replays of the caught-behind appeal against Samson in the previous over.

After 9 overs,Delhi Daredevils 71/1 ( Sanju Samson 42 , Shreyas Iyer 8)

Woakes brought back into the attack, and he mixes his deliveries up with a couple of slower ones in his second over. Appeal for a caught behind in the fourth ball of the over, though there was hardly any volume in that appeal. Five singles scored in the over. Meanwhile, Samson is eight away from his half-century. Meanwhile, the umpire signals for the timeout.

Lowest strike rates in IPL-10: (Min.50 balls)

88.63 – KARUN NAIR*

90.12 – Mandeep Singh 

96.83 – Shane Watson 

103.75 – David Miller 

111.59 – Stuart Binny

After 8 overs,Delhi Daredevils 66/1 ( Sanju Samson 40 , Shreyas Iyer 5)

Another Yadav continues from the other end, with Kuldeep bowling his second over. Samson goes for a drive in the fourth ball of the over, but the ball lands anxiously short of the fielder at extra-cover, before running away to long-off to allow him to get a couple of runs. Six off the over.

After 7 overs,Delhi Daredevils 60/1 ( Sanju Samson 36 , Shreyas Iyer 3)

Umesh into his second over. Samson flicks the fourth ball towards the midwicket boundary, and picks the gap quite well. Would’ve got a boundary for it had it not been for a fine effort by Woakes at the boundary. Seven off the over, all of which comes in ones and twos.

After 6 overs,Delhi Daredevils 53/1 ( Sanju Samson 30 , Shreyas Iyer 2)

Spin from the other end as well, with Kuldeep getting introduced into the attack as well. Couple of singles in the first two deliveries brings up the team 50, and it comes up quite quickly as well. Five runs off the over. End of the powerplay, with the Daredevils scoring at nearly nine per over so far. Meanwhile, new batsman Iyer is off the mark at the moment.

Karun Nair since his triple century against England across formats:

14, 12, 28, 7, 14, 12, 4, 26, 0, 23, 5, 4, 0, 21, 33, 5, 15 (Today)

Innings – 17, Runs – 223, Average – 15.93

Great start from DD again. Sanju Samson has really used his form after the hundred well. KKR have been undisciplined so far, in contrast to the RCB game that is. Karun Nair though cannot catch a break at the moment. How long before DD drop him now? 

After 5 overs,Delhi Daredevils 48/1 ( Sanju Samson 27 , Shreyas Iyer 0)

Gambhir goes for spin early in the innings, bringing Narine into the attack in the fifth over, and the ploy works for the hosts as they draw first blood. Nair misses the first delivery completely while looking for a sweep, with the ball travelling anxiously close to the off-stump. Similar thing happens in the fifth ball, only this time he gets trapped lbw. Seven off the over, including five wides.

OUT! Sunil Narine finally delivers the first blow for KKR. Nair misses yet another attempted sweep, and gets hit on the back thigh, with the ball in the path towards the off-stump. KKR 48/1

#IPL Match 32: India batting great Rahul Dravid rings the bell at Eden Gardens to start the proceedings #KKRvDD - @DelhiDaredevils pic.twitter.com/regL2tao6U

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2017

Right then! A clash between the top- and bottom-placed teams in the IPL. Coulter-Nile is back, which is good news for KKR, but looks like Delhi have gone on an offensive against him early on. The Australian pacer started with two Jaffas, but then was hit for a four in his first over and then was hammered for three fours in his second. Delhi are certainly not a team that deserve to be at the bottom. They have far better quality than that, and are off to a rollicking start here. KKR won a very close one against them last time, at the Kotla, but there is not a great deal of difference in quality between the two teams. So KKR have to be wary. What will make them confident is the depth in their team, which means contributions can come from any quarter.

After 4 overs,Delhi Daredevils 41/0 ( Sanju Samson 26 , Karun Nair 14)

First bowling change, with Englishman Chris Woakes coming into the attack, and he gets the same treatement as NCN in the previous over — getting whacked for boundaries. Samson leans into the drive in the first ball of the over, before going for a backfoot punch through point in the very next delivery. 10 off the over.

After 3 overs,Delhi Daredevils 31/0 ( Sanju Samson 17 , Karun Nair 13)

NCN back for his second over, and Nair and Samson go ballistic this over, realising the need to get off to a quick start if they are to get to a big total. Nair flicks the first ball towards backward square-leg, before unleashing a beautiful drive next ball. Samson then guides one towards third man for the third boundary of the over. 14 off the over.

After 2 overs,Delhi Daredevils 17/0 ( Sanju Samson 12 , Karun Nair 4)

Umesh into the attack now, and the ball seems to be stopping on the batsmen in this over. FOUR! Samson lofts his on-drive to clear mid-on, and help himself to his first boundary. Nair gets beaten by a peach in the fifth ball. SIX! Samson pulls the final ball of the over towards the backward square-leg boundary for a six, timing it to perfection. 12 off the over.

KKR opted to bowl first, not sure whether it is a comfort zone for them or DD. Interesting choice for DD to open with Karun Nair. Perhaps the only spot he fits in currently and definitely the last roll of dice for the triple centurion to save his IPL season.

After 1 overs,Delhi Daredevils 5/0 ( Sanju Samson 1 , Karun Nair 4)

NCN bowls the first over of the innings, and immediately gets the ball to shape away from the batsman along good length. Samson gets off the mark with a single in the first delivery, while Nair guides one towards fine-leg to bring up the first boundary of the innings.

After 1 overs,Delhi Daredevils 5/0 ( Sanju Samson 1 , Karun Nair 4)

NCN bowls the first over of the innings, and immediately gets the ball to shape away from the batsman along good length. Samson gets off the mark with a single in the first delivery, while Nair guides one towards fine-leg to bring up the first boundary of the innings.

At Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders have won five out of six matches against Delhi Daredevils in IPL. 

Yusuf Pathan becomes the second player to play 100 IPL matches for Kolkata Knight Riders after Gautam Gambhir.

Delhi Daredevils coach Rahul Dravid gets the honour of ringing the bell at the Eden Gardens today. We have Karun Nair and Sanju Samson opening for DD today, with Nathan Coulter-Nile being given the ball for the first over of the innings.

#IPL Match 32: @AnkeetBawne gets his @DelhiDaredevils' cap from @karun126 #KKRvDD pic.twitter.com/K5KSPtTR2V

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2017

No confidence over Delhi's batting and they need to post a very good total gainst KKR's batting

— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) April 28, 2017

#IPL Match 32: Here are the Playing XIs for @KKRiders and @DelhiDaredevils #KKRvDD pic.twitter.com/2Z0Fp1dUIe

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2017

DD XI: Samson, Bawne, Nair, Iyer, Anderson, Pant, Rabada, Morris, Cummins, Mishra, Zaheer(c).

Just one change — Ankit Bawne comes in place of Aditya Tare.

KKR XI: Narine, Gambhir (c), Uthappa, Pandey, Pathan, de Grandhomme, Woakes, Jackson, Kuldeep, Umesh, Coulter-Nile.

Two changes in the side — Nathan Coulter-Nile comes in for Darren Bravo, while Sheldon Jackson comes in place of Piyush Chawla.

TOSS: Kolkata Knight Riders win the toss, and captain Gautam Gambhir elects to bowl first. Opposition leader Zaheer Khan says he would have liked to bat first himself.

Mohammad Nabi interview: Afghanistan no longer feel pressure while facing top international teamshttp://www.firstpost.com

IPL 2017: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s famed batting line-up looks lost and incompetenthttp://www.firstpost.com

IPL 2017: GL’s Aaron Finch showed against RCB why he is one of the best batsmen in T20 formathttp://www.firstpost.com

INTERVIEW: @ImRaina & @MohammadKaif relive Ranji memories, fielding aspects & discuss #IPL Playoffs - By @RajalArora https://t.co/MxeTo3zYdX pic.twitter.com/kMwqF5juYz

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 28, 2017

Thank You @iamyusufpathan for everything that you have done for us. On your 100th @IPL game for KKR today, we wish you all the luck. #AmiKKR pic.twitter.com/SRh4bv7PQg

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 28, 2017

Our #DilliBoys honour and support the skills & talent from across the nation. We support @MSDESkillIndia's initiative.#DilDilliHai pic.twitter.com/VIX6VZGJAK

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 28, 2017

Time for round 2!
Our #DilliBoys are set to try and win this one.#Dilliwaalon, are you ready?#KKRvDD#DilDilliHai pic.twitter.com/GTBHYtTNn2

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 28, 2017

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Match 32 of IPL 2017, with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosting Delhi Daredevils (DD) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. The momentum right now is with the hosts, who are right on top of the table with six wins from eight games. DD, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the table with four points, though to be fair to them, they’ve played the least number of games among all teams, with the upcoming match being their seventh.