Kolkata Knight Riders made an explosive start in their clash vs Delhi Capitals in match 48 of IPL 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. After electing to bat, KKR raced to 79/1 in the first six overs—registering the highest powerplay score vs Delhi this season.
The innings began with Rahmanullah Gurbaz cracking a four to open the account and finishing the first over in style. Sunil Narine then tore into Dushmantha Chameera with a sequence of 6, wide, 2, 4, wide, 6, and 1, while Mitchell Starc conceded 14 runs but managed to dismiss Gurbaz. Mukesh Kumar tried to steady things with a tight six-run over, but Starc’s next spell again leaked 14 runs.
Ajinkya Rahane (21 off 10) and Sunil Narine (26 off 14) powered the surge as Delhi’s bowlers struggled to contain the onslaught.
A breakdown of Delhi Capitals’ quick bowlers by lengths in the powerplay highlights the challenge they faced:
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Full deliveries: 1/23 from 14 balls (economy rate: 9.87)
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Good length: 0/16 from 6 balls (economy rate: 16.00)
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Short balls: 0/34 from 16 balls (economy rate: 12.78)
(*excluding extras)
The data underlines how short-pitched bowling proved costly, while the only wicket came off a fuller ball. KKR capitalised brilliantly on anything back of a length in their best powerplay this season.
