Match 19 of the 2022 IPL saw DC register a huge 44-run win against KKR at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The match was set up by a blistering Powerplay from DC, with Prithvi Shaw at the centre of it. Excellent bowling from Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav helped DC become the second team in this IPL to bowl out the opposition while defending the total. Let us look at some key moments from the game.
Kuldeep’s pace variation
Kuldeep Yadav badly struggled in the past two IPL seasons, and playing against his former team, brought his A-game, picking up figures of 4-35 off his four overs to earn himself a ‘Player of the Match’ award.
The key to Yadav’s performance was his pace variation. In the past, one aspect that went against Yadav was his slow pace, which allowed the batters to pick him off the pitch, even if they failed to read his hand. Since 2018, Yadav has bowled 80.1% of his balls at a speed of less than 85 kmph. Only 7.3% of his balls were bowled in excess of 90 kmph.
In this match, Kuldeep varied his pace nicely. Two wickets stood out for his pace variation. The ball before Cummins got out was bowled at 83.5 kmph against Andre Russell, who easily tucked it fine off the backfoot. On the next ball, with the length almost similar, Cummins went back just like Russell did but was beaten by the extra pace on the ball, which was delivered at 91 kmph.
The other was against Shreyas Iyer. He was hit for a six after Iyer stepped out at a ball bowled at 92.5 kmph. With Yadav knowing that Iyer will look to attack him, he slowed his next ball, and Iyer stepped out again but got beaten by the slowness of the ball, which was bowled at 85.2 kmph.
If Kuldeep Yadav continues to mix his pace, he could turn around his career, which has been derailed a bit in the last couple of years. Adding extra pace to his bowling has allowed him to get more help from the surface.
Sarfaraz Khan goes missing
After a 93-run opening partnership, things looked pretty clear as to who would walk in at number three if and when a wicket fell – Rishabh Pant for David Warner or Sarfaraz Khan for Prithvi Shaw – to continue the left-right combination. However, in a surprise move, captain Pant walked in after the dismissal of Shaw.
Sarfaraz is a powerful hitter of the ball who is equally strong against both spin and pace but is more effective against spin. But when wickets started to tumble in the middle overs for DC, Sarfaraz found himself warming the seat in the dugout instead of setting the stadium on fire with his batting. Even Shardul Thakur found himself batting ahead of Sarfaraz.
Although Thakur did make a telling contribution of 11-ball 29, the move to not send in Sarfaraz defied the logic. It would be interesting to see how DC manage Sarfaraz, who has had a history of not being managed well by multiple franchises.
KKR’s persistence with Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane has been under tremendous pressure in his career in recent times. Before this game, he had scored 72 runs off 66 balls in four innings for KKR in this year’s IPL. Today, in a bizarre inning, Rahane survived three times in the first three balls of the chase, overturning two on-field LBW decisions before a lucky non-appeal for a caught behind.
With his returns in the previous four matches, it didn’t make much sense to include him in this match, especially on a pitch that had plenty of runs on offer and needed batters who could go out and maximize the conditions. A struggling 14-ball inning of eight runs in a chase of 216 might just have pulled curtains on Rahane’s season.
The left-arm bowling of Mustafizur Rahman and Khaleel Ahmed was also crucial in the chase, as their angle meant that the ball went across the KKR’s right-handers and made it difficult to hit against the line of the ball. A resounding win against the table-toppers KKR will surely boost DC’s morale.