Phil Salt scored his fourth half-century of IPL 2024 at Eden Gardens to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by seven wickets with 21 balls to spare on Monday night.
Salt smashed 68 off just 33 balls, with 60 of those runs coming in the powerplay. He hit seven fours and four sixes as KKR raced to 79, the fifth time this season they have posted 75 or more in the first six overs.
Salt told the host broadcaster after the game:
"It is high-risk at times, but it is also about putting the odds in your favour and not taking the risks you don't want to. That's the sort of balance that every opening batter tries to strike. Sometimes you can miss the boat a few innings in a row, but you just got to keep backing yourself and sort of taking those right options."
Salt picked his targets against DC: Lizaad Williams, who he plundered for 15 off KKR's 23 runs in the first over, and Khaleel Ahmed, who he struck for three fours and a six in the final over of the powerplay. Salt faced 28 of the 36 balls with fielding restrictions in place while opening partner Sunil Narine played second fiddle.
They put on their fifth fifty-plus opening stand of IPL 2024 from just 26 balls, continuing their successful season as an opening pair with a 79-run partnership. In nine innings, Salt and Narine have now added 485 runs, the most by any first-wicket pair in this IPL. Their scoring rate of 12.43 is also the second highest for any pair who have opened the batting at least five times.