Finn Allen 47-ball ton powers KKR to huge win over DC

Through the middle overs, DC's batters were stifled by the spinners of Kolkata Knight Riders, who kept them to 142 for 8. This total was reached with 34 balls left and 8 wickets in hand thanks to Finn Allen's 47-ball century. As a result of the victory, KKR moved up to seventh in the IPL 2026 points table, adding to the drama of the halfway point of the season. This allowed KKR to keep their hopes of qualifying alive while also halting some of Delhi Capitals' momentum. It would be unfair to overlook the efforts of the spinners in the middle overs that led to the victory, despite Allen's 47-ball century. Sunil Narine, especially, was brilliant, conceding only six runs for one wicket in those three overs in the middle, as he choked DC's scoring, created opportunities, and completely seized the momentum of the contest in KKR's favour. On a surface where Punjab Kings had chased down 264 a few weeks ago, there were all sorts of promises of another high-scoring contest early on, even as shot-making wasn't as easy. When Delhi Capitals used Anukul Roy to start the attack, they realized that right away when Pathum Nissanka took him on early and pulled a second-ball half-tracker for a boundary. As boundaries kept coming mostly down the ground or on the legside, even Sunil Narine was destroyed for 11 runs in his first over. All went well for the first team until the final ball of the fifth over, when KL Rahul missed a slower ball and hit an inside-out shot, ending the first stand on 49. Not immediately. For a while it seemed like DC were still in control, especially with the way Nissanka was finding boundaries every over. He hit Cameron Green's shot over the ropes, dabbed Varun Chakaravarthy through third, and swung Vaibhav Arora's shot off his pads. However, as Nissanka was laying the foundation for his half-century, Nitish Rana was struggling, and the first signs of trouble against spin began to appear. Green's slower delivery foxed Rana, and the ball was lobbed to short fine. Nonetheless, at the end of 8 overs, DC still looked reasonably placed at 74 for 2. The spin choke Ankul, Narine, and Chakaravarthy each bowled two overs over the next six overs, allowing only 18 runs to be scored and taking three wickets: Sameer Rizvi was caught sweeping to the deep midwicket, Nissanka was stumped for a wide, and Tristan Stubbs was bowled clean, and the innings was over. This time, DC chose not to bring in an Impact Sub and instead let Ashutosh Sharma and Axar Patel take a more cautious approach, unlike in the previous game. Ashutosh survived a close leg before appeal in the 16th over, but the momentum had completely been sucked out. 98 balls into the innings, they were languishing with only 101 runs on the board, before KKR allowed for some runs to leak? Actually, no. Axar Patel's concerns with the bat continued. He never quite achieved fluency. However, Ashtosh received several quick deliveries from Chakaravarthy in a row, allowing the ball to enter play and be bowled out with the same ease. In the final four balls of the 17th over, the spinner gave up 16 runs and gave the team some much-needed momentum. Even though Tyagi bowled a great last over, DC got a respectable, if subpar, total thanks to Ashutosh's late blitz against Tyagi and Vaibhav Arora. At first, there was a lot of promise and the convenience of pursuing a familiar target. Finn Allen and Ajinkya Rahane were measured with the attack, and were waiting to take advantage of the scoring opportunities. By the penultimate ball of the third over, they were on their way to 29 when Rahane was run out at the end with a straight hit from Allen. That dismissal sparked a brief slowdown that threatened to make KKR's pursuit more difficult than it had initially appeared. When Angkrish Raghuvanshi attempted to sweep Axar, he completely misjudged the ball and was bowled when it bounced off his gloves and onto the stumps. Allen and Green took a conservative approach because Axar got three of his overs in the Powerplay itself. At the conclusion of the Powerplay, Allen clawed his way to a 17-ball 20 while Green was similarly sluggish at a 7-ball 9. Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav had absolutely nowhere to hide against their onslaught. The batters struck them hard when they pitched it up. When they went shorter, they were quick to rock back and pull. In the seventh over, Allen defeated Nigam for a boundary and a six, and in the subsequent over, he defeated Kuldeep. Despite attempting a forward dive, Stubbs was unable to secure a catch at long range. He brought up his half-century in the first ball of the 11th over by walking across the crease and comfortably scooping Mitchell Starc for a six. The Australian all-rounder took some time to find that gear, but Axar, especially in his final over, kept him in check. He had scored 21 runs in 21 balls, but he also started to take chances. It started by pulling Kuldeep's half-tracker for a six in the 12th over, but after that, it was just watching Allen's six-fest from the other end. He even singled the first ball of the 15th over, giving Allen, who was batting 94, a chance at a century. The New Zealander also took advantage of that opportunity to score his 10th six of the innings to win the match. With their fourth win of the season and nine points, KKR has moved up to seventh, while DC have dropped to eighth with only three games remaining in the league stage. Axar looked resigned despite the mathematical possibilities. After the defeat against KKR, he stated, "We will plan for the next season and try to see if we can give chances to those who are on the bench in the upcoming games." While KKR will have a long break ahead of their next game against RCB in Raipur (May 13), DC will fly to Dharmasala to take on Punjab Kings on Monday (May 11).