Veteran off-spinner Sunil Narine snapped up three crucial wickets in the space of seven balls to help Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Capitals by 14 runs and keep their playoff hopes alive in the IPL on Tuesday. Sent in to bat, KKR, who came into the game with three losses in their last five matches, managed to post 204 for nine, riding on a blazing start by their top-order batters. Chasing the total, DC were 62 for 3 in seven overs, but Faf du Plessis (62) and Axar Patel (43) kept them in the hunt with a 76-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

However, Narine (3/29) picked up three key wickets at a crucial juncture to derail DC’s chase, as the hosts were restricted to 190 for nine in their 20 overs to succumb to their third loss in four home games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

With this win, defending champions KKR reignited their playoff hopes, though they remained at the seventh spot with nine points. DC stayed in the top four with 12 points.

KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane‘s gamble to hand the ball to Anukul Roy paid off as the spinner dismissed Abhishek Porel (4) with his second delivery. Vaibhav Arora then trapped Karun Nair (15) lbw before a direct hit from Narine found KL Rahul (7) short of his crease, reducing DC to 62 for 3 in the seventh over.

Axar Patel, who had left the field in the 18th over due to a hand injury, returned to join opener du Plessis. The duo negotiated the spinners well, adding 76 runs off 42 balls to keep DC in the contest.

Du Plessis smashed Chakravarthy for two fours and a six in the ninth over before bringing up his fifty off 31 balls.

Axar then took charge, clobbering three sixes and four boundaries in his 23-ball 43 to keep the scoreboard ticking.

However, Narine’s return in the 14th over changed the game as he dismissed Axar and Tristan Stubbs (1) in the same over, before removing du Plessis with the second ball of his next to derail DC’s chase.

With 59 needed off 30 balls, Impact Player Ashutosh Sharma deposited Harshit Rana over long-off, but Chakravarthy returned to remove him and Mitchell Starc in successive deliveries.

Vipraj Nigam tried to mount a late charge with two sixes and three fours, but it wasn’t enough.

Earlier, KKR got off to a flying start as Narine (27) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (26) put on the team’s highest opening stand of the season — 48 runs off just 17 balls.

On a better batting surface compared to the previous game, Narine took the attack to Dushmantha Chameera (1/46), smashing him for 25 runs in an over, including two sixes — one of them a one-handed slog over midwicket — and a four.

Gurbaz then took on Mitchell Starc, hitting two boundaries and a six before edging to Abhishek Porel in the third over to end the stand.

Skipper Rahane (26) carried the momentum, hitting Starc for a six and a four, and then adding two more boundaries off Mukesh Kumar to take KKR to 79/1 at the end of the powerplay.

However, DC’s spinners pulled things back. Vipraj Nigam (2/41) trapped Narine leg-before, before Axar Patel removed Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer (7) in quick succession, reducing the visitors to 117 for 4 in 10 overs.

Young Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44) steadied the innings along with Rinku Singh (36), the duo adding 61 runs off 46 balls. Raghuvanshi struck two big sixes off Vipraj, while Rinku targeted Kuldeep Yadav, smashing two boundaries and a six in a 17-run over that helped KKR cross the 150-run mark.

However, KKR lost the momentum again as both Raghuvanshi and Rinku departed in quick succession, falling to Chameera and Vipraj respectively, just when they looked set to accelerate.

Andre Russell smashed two fours and a six to push KKR past the 200-mark, but the visitors lost three wickets in as many balls in the final over, with Starc picking up two in dramatic fashion.