Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured a 14-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in an exhilarating IPL 2025 Match 48 on April 29, 2025, at Arun Jaitley Stadium. At a posted trot of 204/9 from KKR, DC managed to chase 190 with all effort but ultimately fell short when the decisive bowling pressure came in from KKR. Let's check why DC lost this game.

The first reason is that DC could not defend a competitive total, which was 204/9, by way of poor bowling and no breakthroughs made at all. KKR's batsmen, led by Raghuvanshi (66), Rinku Singh, and Sunil Narine, had almost demoralized the bowling attack of Mitchell Starc (3/43) and Vipuraj Nigam (2/41) with their onslaught during the powerplay and the middle overs thanks to 44 off 32 deliveries from Angkrish Raghuvanshi and 36 off 25 balls from Rinku Singh. DC had some low contributions from its bowlers, such as Mitchell Starc (3/43) and Vipuraj Nigam (2/41). While DC had not come to chase a target of that magnitude, there were questions regarding KKR's attunement to Indian conditions in getting a score such as that. 

A perplexing fight, though, with the quick-fire abs of Axar Patel (43 off 23) and Vipuraj Nigam (38 off 19), with some fight back by turning pretty much—I feel it's only towards the end that they're not going to be able to up the ante—caused KKR's death bowling - Varun specifically (2/39) and Vaibhav Arora (1/19)—and sealed an interesting but doomed run chase.

Also Read: IPL 2025, Match 48: Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders Full Match Highlights

1. Inconsistent Top-Order Performance

While Faf du Plessis offered a good start with a stylish 62 off 45 balls, there was no support from the rest of Delhi's top-order batting. The early wickets and lack of solid partnerships in the powerplay put pressure on the middle order to try and repair the slow start. This inconsistency at the top hindered the momentum of the Capitals in a chase of over 200, as they found themselves in a catch-up for the rest of their innings.

2. Kolkata's Bowling Impact in Crucial Moments

KKR bowlers at key moments worked with a will for Sunil Narine (3/29) to wrest key breakthroughs. Narine broke the middle order's back while containing runs strongly in the middle. Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora lent timely wickets and disciplined spells, all putting a wrench in Delhi's efforts to accelerate, especially from the moment the asking rate leaped sharply in the death overs.

3. Expensive Bowling Despite Wicket-Taking

Delhi bowlers Mitchell Starc and Vipraj Nigam took two very vital wickets but gave away runs at an expensive rate-Starc 43 runs and Nigam 41 runs. Those overcosting Delhi would allow KKR to put up the stiff 204/9 run target. The inability to control the scoring, especially in the death overs, meant that Delhi’s batters had a stiffer target than ideal, ultimately proving too much to overcome despite a strong fightback.