Prithvi Shaw hit the fastest 50 of the Indian Premier League season as Delhi Capitals hammered Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday to go second on points table.
‘Came, Shaw, conquered’: Reactions, numbers from Prithvi Shaw’s incredible innings for DC vs KKR
DC vs KKR as it happened: Prithvi Shaw’s blazing 82 powers Delhi Capitals to 7-wicket win
| Team | Pld | Won | Lost | Net RR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSK | 6 | 5 | 1 | +1.475 | 10 |
| DC | 7 | 5 | 2 | +0.466 | 10 |
| RCB | 6 | 5 | 1 | +0.089 | 10 |
| MI | 6 | 3 | 3 | +0.071 | 6 |
| KKR | 7 | 2 | 5 | -0.494 | 4 |
| PBKS | 6 | 2 | 4 | -0.608 | 4 |
| RR | 6 | 2 | 4 | -0.690 | 4 |
| SRH | 6 | 1 | 5 | -0.264 | 2 |
The 21-year-old opener hit six fours from the first over of Delhi’s innings, the first time that’s happened in the tournament’s history, and raced to 50 in 18 balls, two faster than the previous best by Punjab Kings’ Deepak Hooda against Rajasthan Royals.
Kolkata never recovered from Shivam Mavi’s opening over. Delhi passed 50 in 22 balls and sped to their winning total of 156/3 in 16.2 overs.
Shaw, who has been acclaimed as one of India’s brightest yet unpredictable talents, finished on 82 from 41 balls with three sixes and 11 fours. Fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan made 46 with a six and four boundaries.
The pair put on a batting masterclass in their 132 partnership.
Kolkata were also let down by their middle order batting. Their 154 for six relied on a 27-ball 45 by Andre Russell and Shubman Gill’s 43. Captain Eoin Morgan was caught by Steve Smith off his second ball without scoring.
Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins took all three Delhi wickets to fall.
The win lifted Delhi to second place in the eight-team league, with Chennai Super Kings leading by a better run rate.
Captain Rishabh Pant had been aiming to improve Delhi’s run rate and gave that order to Dhawan and Shaw.
“He’s a talented player, we all know that. But if you give him confidence he can do wonders,” said Pant of his opening batsman. “I was only telling him to play his normal game.”
Earlier, in the first match of the day, Quinton de Kock hit an unbeaten 70 from 50 balls as reigning champions Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets. The win kept Mumbai in fourth place.
For KKR, lead pacer Pat Cummins finished with excellent figures of 3/24.
This was DC’s fifth win in seven outings while KKR suffered their fifth loss in as seven games.
Earlier, KKR suffered another familiar batting collapse before late fireworks from Andre Russell lifted them to 154/6.
KKR were at a decent position at 69/1 in the 10th over but slumped to 82 for five in the 13th before Russell saved them with a 27-ball 45 not out.
Russell’s blistering innings had two boundaries and four sixes.
Shubman Gill top-scored with a 38-ball 43, and his knock was studded with three boundaries and one six, but he failed to convert his solid start into a big score.
For DC, Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav were impressive with two wickets.
KKR’s familiar batting slump came to the fore as captain Eoin Morgan and Sunil Narine both got out in the space of three balls without opening their accounts.
Lalit, who replaced an injured Amit Mishra in the DC playing XI, grabbed both the wickets as KKR slumped from 69/1 in the 10th over to 75/4 in the 11th over.
With PTI and AFP inputs