Twitter Reactions: Daredevils implode to hand Kolkata Knight Riders an easy win

It was not a happy ‘home-coming’ for Gautam Gambhir in Kolkata. Having played all his IPL cricket of the recent editions for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Gambhir stood in the opposition camp when the Delhi Daredevils arrived in the city for the match 13 of IPL 2018. The Gambhir-led Delhi camp suffered a heavy defeat in the game despite being in firm command of the run chase.

The run chase of 200 was never going to be an easy task. But quick runs from Glenn Maxwell and Rishabh Pant had put them well on course for the run chase at the half way mark. However, once the two set batsmen were dismissed, the innings crashed like ten pins. They went from 86/3 to 129/10 to lose the game by 71 runs.

Earlier in the game, Gautam Gambhir had won the toss for the Delhi Daredevils and had invited the hosts to bat first. The Kolkata Knight Riders did not get a brisk start and were jolted early by Trent Boult who dismissed Sunil Narine on 1. Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn got starts but they could not get going for long. The same was the case with the KKR skipper, Dinesh Karthik, who scored 19 on the day.

It was the partnership between Nitish Rana and Andre Russell that defined the innings for the KKR team. They added 61 runs for the fifth wicket in just 22 deliveries. Russell was the chief destructor as he hammed 41 off just 12 deliveries with six sixes to his name. He hit all those sixes to Mohammed Shami. On the other hand, Nitish Rana also played a brilliant knock of 59 off 35 deliveries with five fours and four sixes. Their efforts saw the Kolkata Knight Riders post 200/9 in their stipulated 20 overs.

In the run chase, the Daredevils hoped that their hero of previous game, Jason Roy, to click in the run chase. But Roy perished in the very first over and the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer fell in quick succession as well. Pant (43 off 26 deliveries) and Maxwell (47 off 22 deliveries) played handy cameos to keep DD in the hunt.

Kuldeep Yadav accounted for the dismissals of both the players and that pretty much ended the game for the visitors. The Daredevils could eventually post only 129 after being bundled out in 14.2 overs. The Kolkata Knight Riders registered their second win of the season and won by 71 runs.

Here is how the Twitterati reacted to the match:

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