Kolkata Knight Riders had a historic outing at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam as they defeated Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals by 106 runs on April 3 (Wednesday). KKR batting first posted the second-highest total in IPL history. They posted 272/7 in 20 overs with the help of stunning knocks from Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, and Rinku Singh and then bowled out Delhi for just 166 runs. However, the only concern for the Knights was the injury scare of their star young bowler Harshit Rana.
Shreyas Iyer On Harshit Rana Injury
Harshit Rana didn't bowl in the match against DC. Heb was seen holding his shoulder after which he even left the field. Later he was also spotted applying an ice pack on his shoulder which raised more concern for the two-time champions. KKR captain Iyer revealed that he was unaware of Rana's injury.
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“We thought we will reach 210-220 but 270 was an icing on the cake. I said in a pre-match interview that Sunny's job is to take us off to a good start, if he doesn't get us off, that's also okay. (On Raghuvanshi) He was fearless from ball one, his work ethic is phenomenal, the way he played his shots were pleasing to the eye,” said Iyer in the post-match presentation.
“It's great to see all the bowlers stepping up at the right time and capitalizing on the opportunities. (On Harshit Rana's injury) I also don't know, on the field he was holding his shoulder. I have been in that situation before. Vaibhav Arora took crucial wickets for us, he stood up for us tonight,” he added.
Vaibhav Arora Shines In Harshit Rana's Absence
Young Vaibhav Arora picked up three wickets against Delhi Capitals in his four-over spell and only gave away 27 runs. He dismissed Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, and Rasikh Dar Salman. He helped KKR take a strong stand early in the powerplay. His controlled bowling didn't let Harshit Rana's absence become bothersome for the Knights.
However, Rana who has picked up 5 wickets in the first two matches for KKR is a crucial asset for the side. Both Gambhir and Iyer will be hoping that the injury is not serious and they don't face a major blow early in the tournament.
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