KKR, playing along the Visakhapatnam coast, built an impressive total of 272 for seven against DC, making it the second-highest score in the history of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL). This surpasses the previous record of 263 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2013 edition. This dominant performance led KKR to secure their third consecutive win in the 2024 season.

The batting performance of KKR was highly entertaining for the crowd with their exciting display. Just seven days prior in a nearby city to Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad experienced their home team scoring a remarkable 277 runs – the highest score in the history of Tata IPL. While the end of the innings drew near, KKR seemed poised to break records but ultimately fell short as Ishant Sharma delivered a strong final over.

Upon reviewing the ultimate tally, it is hard to believe that Sunil Narine, the leading scorer, only made his first point after six deliveries – a calm single to the third man during the second over. This can be seen as the quiet period before the real action began. He then got into the groove by hitting a four off Khaleel Ahmed in the third over through a cut over point. Meanwhile, Phil Salt appeared to be in a more assertive state, swiftly reaching 18 runs.

The destruction truly started during the fourth over when Narine scored 26 runs off Ishant’s bowling. Whether the ball was short, Narine was prepared with his horizontal bat shots, or if it was a full ball, he would hit it over the infield. It appeared that anything delivered to him would effortlessly sail towards the boundaries. DC had an opportunity to end Narine’s batting earlier, but they missed it. In Ishant’s over, Narine had hit a short ball to the wicketkeeper, but it was not given out. However, DC requested a review after the allotted time had passed.

In the following over, Anrich Nortje made a breakthrough by getting Phil Salt caught out with the second ball at a score of 60. DC may have believed that they could slow down the run rate, but suddenly Angkrish Raghuvanshi entered the match for the first time in an IPL game.

The young player remained unfazed by the grand setting and hit his first delivery for a four towards the fine-leg boundary. In the following ball, he elegantly struck it through the off-side to score another boundary. The partnership between the two players was a stark contrast. On one end was an experienced player, while on the other was a novice looking to make his mark. The combination of a right-handed and a left-handed player, with Narine showcasing a ruthless approach to T20 batting, while Raghuvanshi impressed with his proper technique and delicate shots. Raghuvanshi also displayed some creativity, evident in his reverse scoop for a six off Rasikh Salam in the 11th over.

The fans at the stadium were delighted as the partnership of 104 runs was quickly achieved in only 48 balls. Narine reached his half-century in just 21 balls, while KKR ended the powerplay at 88 for one. Despite surpassing his previous Tata IPL high score, Narine continued to dominate the game even after the powerplay. He hit a six off Anrich Nortje in the 12th over, surpassing his best T20 score. However, he was eventually dismissed for 85 by Mitchell Marsh, who caught his edge and gave him out. This led to Andre Russell taking his place on the field.

Following this, Raghuvanshi achieved his half-century in just 25 balls, making a remarkable debut in the IPL. While he seemed poised for a higher score, he unfortunately fell short at 54 runs, hitting a straight upper cut to third-man off Nortje’s delivery. Thanks to Russell’s contributions, KKR cruised past 200 runs in the 16th over, causing excitement among the audience for a potential record-breaking team score.

KKR’s dominance continued as Rinku Singh’s quick 26 runs off just eight balls added to the already mounting pressure for DC. The icing on the cake came in the form of Russell’s entertaining 41 runs off 19 balls, along with the Narine-Raghuvanshi partnership. Unfortunately, it was a lackluster day for DC’s bowlers, with the only notable moment being Ishant’s impressive yorker that knocked over Russell in the final over.

DC’s response was initially unsteady as they lost four wickets in the first six overs. Though there was a clear intention to score, the weight of the daunting target was clearly immense. Vaibhav Arora, who was designated as the Impact Player, took the wickets of Prithvi Shaw and Abishek Porel (DC’s Impact Player). Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc dismissed his fellow Australians Mitchell Marsh and David Warner, leaving DC struggling at 33 for four.

A strong partnership was formed by Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs, where Pant showed great aggressiveness from the start. Despite being behind the required rate, DC continued to hit big shots. Pant reached his fifty in the 12th over, off just 23 balls. During that over, which was bowled by Venkatesh Iyer, Pant displayed his wide range of shots all over the ground, making it the most expensive over of the match. However, Pant’s fight came to an end when he attempted to loft Varun Chakaravarthy over long-on, but instead got a top-edge to cover. Axar then tried to smash the first ball over long-on, but ended up skying it. Fortunately, Manish Pandey was able to take a good catch while diving forward from long-on.

Stubbs continued to battle, reaching his fifty in just 28 balls with an impressive display of shots. Like Pant, Stubbs was unable to maintain his momentum and was dismissed soon after achieving his half-century. This proved to be too great a challenge for DC, and with the loss of Stubbs and Pant, KKR easily secured a 106-run victory. Arora stood out among the bowlers, living up to his impact player status with a remarkable performance of three wickets for 27 runs on a batting-friendly pitch. Starc (two for 25) and Chakaravarthy (three for 33) also made valuable contributions, while Narine continued his impressive form with the bat and ball, taking one wicket for 29 runs.

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