New Delhi, Apr 21 (IANS): Playing his first match of the season, the veteran pacer Ishant Sharma claimed 2-19 in four overs against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here.

With Ishant Sharma leading the charge, Delhi Capitals registered their first victory in the IPL 2023 after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets here on Thursday night. The Delhi Capitals dismissed the Kolkata Knight Riders for 127 before chasing down the total in 19.2 overs.

Delhi Capitals' wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who picked up figures of 2-15, spoke about the importance of the victory, "The first win is always important to gain momentum. We bowled very well against Kolkata Knight Riders. It was a great effort from our side to restrict them to 127."

Ishant Sharma, who played his first IPL match in two years, returned with fantastic figures of 2-19. When asked about the speedster's performance, Yadav said, "Ishant was very accurate with the ball. And you also gain confidence when you enter the field with an experienced player. He knows the conditions well in Delhi and gave us important breakthroughs. I have massive respect for him as he produced such a performance after being unwell for a week."

The Delhi franchise was in a spot of bother when Manish Pandey and Aman Khan fell in quick succession during the team's chase.

"We lost back-to-back wickets at one point in the game. But we weren't too tense as there were few runs to get. Axar and Lalit finished the game for us. You always have to fight for your first win and we did that," Yadav was quoted as saying by the franchise in a release on Friday.

Speaking about his own bowling performance, Yadav said, "I am really happy that my contributions have helped the team win. If I am bowling well and our team is not winning, my performance doesn't matter."