Finn Allen smashes maiden IPL century off 47 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Delhi Capitals
Finn Allen has produced the innings of his career, blasting an unbeaten 100 from just 47 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders crushed Delhi Capitals by eight wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday night. The Wellington-raised opener cleared the rope ten times and added five boundaries, leaving the home crowd dumbstruck and a swag of Indian commentators reaching for superlatives. It was his first century in the Indian Premier League and arrived in his debut season with the Knight Riders after a summer of mixed fortunes for the New Zealand international.
KKR were chasing a modest 143 after a tidy bowling performance had restricted Delhi to 142 for eight in their 20 overs, with Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka top scoring with a 28-ball half century and Ashutosh Sharma whacking 39 off 28. Few would have picked the chase to turn into a one-man demolition. KKR lost two wickets early, and Allen, a player whose entire game has been built on the brutal first six overs, walked into a contest that suddenly required him to think rather than swing. He responded by stitching together a partnership with Australian all-rounder Cameron Green that yielded an unbroken 116 runs and finished the job with 34 balls to spare.
Allen reached his fifty in 28 deliveries, then accelerated. The next 50 came from just 19 balls. He hit Delhi’s spin attack, in particular, to all parts, the four bowlers who delivered tweakers conceding 102 from their nine overs for a single wicket. By the time he carved Axar Patel over deep cover for the boundary that brought up the hundred, the strike rate sat at 212.76 and KKR had effectively put themselves into the playoff conversation.
Speaking afterwards, the 26-year-old was reflective rather than triumphant. “What I’ve been working on is trying to have more strings to my bow,” Allen told reporters. “We obviously lost a couple of early wickets, so I just tried to have a bit of responsibility and get a win on the board for the boys.” He admitted the start had not been easy. “I just tried to knuckle down early. It was still a little bit challenging at the start.” Pressed on whether the innings reshaped how he thought about his role, he said, “I think that’s the model I’ve been trying to do with my batting, I guess. When the situation comes to it, you just forget about my batting and play the situation.”
That admission carries some weight. Allen has spent much of the past year being shuffled in and out of the Black Caps T20 side, his all-or-nothing strike rate occasionally tipping the wrong way. He was dropped from a New Zealand white-ball squad earlier in the southern summer, an episode he addressed directly. “You go out of the team, have a bit of time for a mental refresh. To be honest, I was just putting too much pressure on myself at the start.” A maiden century in the world’s loudest cricket competition, in an innings that demanded restraint as well as power, will go a long way toward easing that pressure.
Green, watching from the non-striker’s end, was clearly enjoying the view. “So special. I think you only get the chance to be at the other end a handful of times in your career,” he said, adding 33 not out from 27 balls of his own. The Australian was generous enough to let Allen hog the strike for most of the back half of the chase, and the Kiwi rewarded him by smashing the winning runs himself.
The win was KKR’s fourth in succession and lifted them up the IPL ladder at a critical stage of the league phase. For Delhi, the loss was more dispiriting still. Their bowling attack, built around the spin of Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar, had no answer to a left-handed clone of Brendon McCullum in his pomp. Allen does not really need the ball to come into the bat. He stays leg side, opens the face, and clears the front leg in a way that turns slot balls into long-on souvenirs and good balls into top-edge sixes over fine leg.
Domestic followers will remember Allen’s 2023 century for New Zealand against Pakistan in Hamilton, a 16-ball fifty and 51-ball hundred that remains the second-fastest T20 international century by a New Zealander. For all that, he has often looked vulnerable when the powerplay does not break his way. Friday’s effort suggested a more grown-up cricketer, one who can read the situation and pace an innings without losing the instinct that made him famous in the first place. RNZ Sport noted that the knock arrived at the perfect moment for both Allen and his franchise.
Whether the innings is enough to force its way back into selectors’ thinking ahead of New Zealand’s white-ball tours later this year is another question. Coach Rob Walter has favoured a settled top order in recent series, with Tim Seifert and Devon Conway preferred for the test against Bangladesh, and Allen’s IPL deal means he was unavailable for the early Black Caps assignments anyway. What he has done in Delhi, though, is the kind of statement that selectors find very hard to ignore. KKR’s next match comes on Monday against Punjab Kings.
What did you make of Finn Allen’s innings, and does he deserve a recall to the Black Caps T20 side ahead of the busy winter schedule? Have your say in the comments below.