(UTV | INDIA) – Umesh Yadav on Friday pulled off a class act to hand an early success to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) while defending a 146-run total against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The right-arm quick has already been in great form this season and continued his excellence to dismiss Prithvi Shaw off the very first ball of the innings.
DC experimented with a new opening pair against KKR as they promoted all-rounder Mitch Marsh up the order in place of David Warner. Prithvi Shaw took the strike but Umesh ruined his outing with a fuller delivery which curved away after pitching.
The DC opener closed the face of his bat too early and ended up getting a leading edge that went straight towards the bowler. Umesh showcased his agility and dived to his left to take a stunning catch while Prithvi stood at the crease in disbelief.
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Umesh returned stronger in his second spell and dented the Delhi Capitals’s chase of 157. He got the better of David Warner for 42 and also removed Rishabh Pant, registering figures of 3 for 24 in 4 overs.
Earlier, Nitish Rana’s partnership of 62 for the seventh wicket with Rinku Singh (23 off 16 balls) proved to be a saving grace after the two-time champions slumped to 83 for six at one stage.
Kuldeep, who is in the middle of a brilliant season, finished with 4 for 14 which included the wickets of Shreyas and the dangerous Andre Russell.
If Kuldeep wreaked havoc in the middle overs, it was Mustafizur Rahaman (3/18 in 4 overs), who was brilliant at the death, giving away only two runs and picking three wickets in the last over.
Kuldeep’s manner of using the flight in one delivery and suddenly increasing the pace in other was there for everyone to see. It was a bit surprising that skipper Rishabh Pant didn’t complete his quota of overs.