NEW DELHI: It’s been a while since Ishant Sharma has bowled in a high-profile match. On Thursday night, as the steady drizzle stopped half an hour after scheduled start of play, Delhi Capitals decided to finally unveil him for the first time in the season after winning the toss against Kolkata Knight Riders. And when the second ball of the match pitched on a back of a length and left Jason Roy, Ishant turned back the clock. And that set the tone for his comeback spell of 2/19 and the beleaguered Capitals to choke and restrict KKR to 127/9 for their first win of the season.
That spell of probing of seam bowling along with Anrich Nortje (2/20) and Mukesh Kumar was enough for David Warner to rediscover his customary fluency with a 41-ball 57 in the chase even as the Capitals’ frail batting scrapped its way to a four-wicket win with four balls remaining and their in-form batter Axar Patel unbeaten on 19 off 22 balls.
With his home turf at the Ferozeshah Kotla offering a decent movement carry and movement, Ishant brought in his 16 years’ worth of international experience to keep the KKR top-order tied to the crease. Anrich Nortje, with his customary pace and zip off the pitch, ruffled the KKR batters while Mukesh Kumar finally found his rhythm supported Ishant and reduced to 32/3 inside the Powerplay.
