Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) impressive 14-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday night saw an unfortunate injury to skipper , who suffered a blow to his right hand while fielding. The veteran batter had to leave the field mid-innings, forcing KKR to hand over leadership duties to Sunil Narine, who produced a match-winning performance to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Rahane, who was fielding at short cover, was hit on the hand by a drive from Faf du Plessis off Andre Russell’s bowling. Clearly in pain, Rahane walked off the field and did not return with his hand heavily strapped. Despite the injury scare, Rahane remained optimistic about his quick return. “Not bad. I’ll be okay. I’ll be fine,” he said at the post-match presentation. Meanwhile, KKR’s Anukul Roy, who was playing his first game of the season, provided further updates on the KKR skipper’s injury.
“It doesn’t seem too serious. He might need two or three days. The doctors will give a clearer picture, but for now, he’s okay. He got a few stitches, but it’s manageable,” said Anukul.
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With vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer already substituted out for Impact Player Vaibhav Arora, KKR turned to their veteran spinner to lead the side through the remainder of the innings. The 36-year-old played an important role in the win, which included a brilliant spell of 3/29, 27 runs with the bat, a solid direct hit to run out KL Rahul, and a sharp catch at backwards point.
The game began with KKR posting 204/9, thanks to a strong PowerPlay that saw them score 79/1 in the first six overs. Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz began well as the found boundaries at ease, while Rinku Singh (36 off 25) and Andre Russell (25 off 10) ensured they crossed the 200-run mark despite a mini-collapse in the death overs.
In reply, DC were well in the chase with du Plessis (62), Axar Patel (43), and Vipraj Nigam (38). But Narine’s four-over spell dismantled their hopes as he dismissed Axar, Stubbs, and du Plessis. His all-around effort, along with important breakthroughs from Varun Chakravarthy, restricted DC to 190/8.
