Axar pal

Kolkata Knight Riders: Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc picked 3-42, while Vipraj Nigam and captain Axar Patel took two wickets each as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) posted 204/9 in their 20 overs against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Tuesday.

On a pitch that didn’t offer much grip and was good to bat on, KKR had their batters producing quick knocks at a great strike rate and were also aided by DC conceding 15 extras. But they lost their way in the middle overs against DC’s spin troika and then made only 45 in the last five overs.

It would be interesting to see if DC, after pulling things back in the post-powerplay phase, chase down the total, especially if dew comes into the picture. They also need to see if Axar can bat after hurting his left hand while fielding.