Delhi Capitals 228 for 4 (Iyer 88*, Shaw 66, Pant 38, Russell 2-29) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 210 for 8 (Rana 58, Morgan 44, Tripathi 36, Nortje 3-33) by 18 runs

For the third time in as many matches in Sharjah this season, both teams hit the 200 mark. The Delhi Capitals posted the highest total of the tournament so far, courtesy their hugely impressive trio of young Indian batsmen: Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. The total didn't seem entirely safe at the innings break, considering the hitting might of the Kolkata Knight Riders. And even when it did look safe, with the Knight Riders needing 135 from 61 balls with their most dangerous hitter, Andre Russell, back in the dressing room, it wasn't.

Oh no, by no means was it safe. It came down to 78 from 24 balls - with only four wickets in hand - but as has been the case so often this season, especially on this ground, there's always a downpour of sixes to come. From somewhere.

Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi walloped 47 runs from overs 17 and 18, and suddenly the chase was blown wide open. But luck and the skill of Anrich Nortje swung the game back the Capitals' way. Only five runs came off the 19th over, which also brought the wicket of Morgan, leaving the Knight Riders far too much to do in the 20th, even though they knew it would be bowled by one of the Capitals' weaker bowlers. Needing 26 off six balls from Marcus Stoinis, they simply didn't have enough batting left in the tank.

Strategies for six-hitting

Both teams made selections that reflected the unique challenge of playing in Sharjah. The Knight Riders left out the flighty wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and played Tripathi to give themselves depth and more leeway to go hard with the bat. The Capitals brought back R Ashwin, who had recovered after dislocating his shoulder in their season-opener, and left out the left-arm spinner Axar Patel - with three left-handers in the Knight Riders top six - and also subbed out Ishant Sharma, a powerplay specialist with the ball, for Harshal Patel, a slower-ball merchant who can hit the long ball.

Quick off the blocks

Sent in, the Capitals raced to 57 in their Powerplay, losing only Shikhar Dhawan for 26 off 16. It was already evident that the bowlers in this game were simply around for damage limitation, with almost no margin for error: Shaw hung back to pull and cut marginally short balls through and over the infield, and Dhawan plonked forward and slog-swept Sunil Narine for back-to-back sixes. The wicket came in the sixth over, Dhawan miscuing a sweep off the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

Iyer, Pant join in the fun

The contours of this game were evident when Andre Russell bowled the seventh and ninth overs of the Capitals innings as if he were bowling the 18th and 20th: pitching right up in the blockhole or hitting the deck with shorter lengths, offering nothing in between. Only seven runs came off those two overs, a minor miracle.

In between and thereafter, the Capitals batsmen found the boundaries with unerring frequency. Rather than slow down post-powerplay, Shaw and Iyer accelerated, putting on 73 at 10.68 per over - Shaw and Dhawan had added 56 at 9.60 - and some of their hitting - notably a chipped six from Shaw over extra-cover off Shivam Mavi, and a flicked six over midwicket from Iyer off Kamlesh Nagarkoti - was effortless to the point of being dispiriting to any bowler who might have been watching.

The exit of Shaw in the 13th over brought Pant to the crease, and he took eight balls to get his eye in before hitting Shivam Mavi for three fours in the 16th over, the pick of them a slap over extra-cover off a short ball slanting away from his hitting arc. That opened the floodgates: from that over on, the Capitals made 77 in 30 balls.

This period showcased the best of Pant's incredible hand-eye coordination, and also Iyer's ability to move around the crease and play with the bowler's lines and angles - such as when Pat Cummins sent down two marginally off-target yorkers in the 17th over and saw them tickled past short fine leg and flayed between mid-off and extra-cover - and to hit sixes at will off spinners. Chakravarthy went for 20 in the 19th over, and conceded 30 off 9 balls to Iyer overall.

Russell, carted all over by Pant in the 18th, finished the innings with a tight 20th, giving up just seven runs despite new man Shimron Hetmyer hitting his third ball for a six. It left the Knight Riders 229 to get, but the Capitals wouldn't have been able to say if they had enough.

More to follow...