The Kolkata Knight Riders emerged victorious over the Delhi Capitals by seven wickets on Monday at the IPL match held at the Eden Gardens. The match was characterised by a high-scoring performance from Phil Salt’s attacking 68 and Varun Chakravarthy’s 3-16.
Chakravarthy, a mystery spinner, led Kolkata’s disciplined bowling to restrict Delhi to 153-9, with players and fans remaining drenched in sweat and braving the intense heat in the colonial-era capital.
England wicket-keeper batsman Salt led the chase with an opening stand of 79, with support from Sunil Narine. This two-time champions reached their target with 3.3 overs to spare.
Temperatures reached 41°C in the afternoon, a third time this month, forcing the normally bustling streets to stay empty at noon.
Despite the high temperatures, the city's sporting enthusiasts were out in force at the 66,000-capacity stadium for the evening game. Their home team did not disappoint, securing their sixth win in nine matches and moving closer to securing a playoff spot.
Most of India’s eastern states and southern peninsula have remained under government heatwave alerts since last week, with relief not expected for several more days.
Delhi chose to field first, but lost regular wickets including Prithvi Shaw for 13 and fellow opener Jake Fraser-McGurk for 12 off the left-arm quick Mitchell Starc.
Captain Rishabh Pant attempted to resist the slide in his unconvincing knock of 27 before he was dismissed by Man of the Match Chakravarthy.
Chakravarthy's bowling performance saw the Delhi middle and lower order dismissed for 111 runs before Kuldeep Yadav, the team's number nine, claimed an unbeaten 35 runs.
Salt, who has risen to the top five batsmen in the IPL season with 392 runs, set the pace for the chase alongside fellow opener Narine, who smashed 23 runs off the first over from Lizaad Williams.
He reached his fourth half-century of the season in just 26 deliveries, with a six off Khaleel Ahmed. He was dismissed by spinner Axar Patel after his 33-ball knock, comprising seven fours and five sixes.
Captain Shreyas Iyer, who made 33, and Venkatesh Iyer, who hit the winning six in his 23, steered the team to victory in an unbeaten stand of 57.
The match was a stark contrast to the previous game at the venue, where the Punjab Kings had set a new IPL record of 262 on another scorching day.