IPL 2021: KRR see off RCB to reach second qualifier
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the eliminator stage to play Delhi Capitals in the second qualifier. Requiring 139 runs to win, Morgan’s men completed the run chase with four wickets in hand.
This was Kohli’s last season as the RCB skipper.
RCB lose momentum despite brilliant start
After watching the brilliance of Mahendra Singh Dhoni yesterday in Chennai Super Kings’ win, it was time for Virat Kohli to repeat the same heroics. The Indian captain didn’t disappoint as he stunned the Kolkata fast bowlers with sublime shotmaking. He was supported really well by Devdutt Padikkal.
Both the openers were tremendous in giving Royal Challengers Bangalore an ideal start. However, the Knight Riders drew first blood in the sixth over when Lockie Ferguson got rid of Padikkal. The three-time runner-ups got over the 50-run mark in the same over.
Srikar Bharat came to the crease and never looked like settling. He got dismissed by Sunil Narine in the 10th over. At the halfway mark, the score was 70/2. Glen Maxwell replaced the Bangalore wicket-keeper to give the innings a boost. He started off really well by hitting Shakib Al Hasan for a boundary.
However, it looked like the 2016 runner-ups were starting to lose momentum as they lost their skipper to the West Indian spinner in the 13th over. Kohli scored 39 runs off 33 balls. With both AB de Villiers and Maxwell at the crease, the fans expected some breathtaking shots. Even though the pair guided their team to triple figures, they couldn’t make a huge impact as the former South African captain was also bowled by Narine.
After such a fantastic start, it looked like Kohli’s men would fell short of their required target. Narine was denied a fourth wicket when Shubhman Gill dropped a sitter off Shahbaz Ahmed. However, the West Indian redeemed himself as he removed Maxwell a few balls later. The last ten overs resulted in only 68 runs as Royal Challengers finished their innings with 138/7.
KKR remain calm to complete the chase
Kolkata knew that they had to play according to the situation to get over the line. Both Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer started steadily. In the fourth over, the right-handed batsman hit three boundaries in a row to George Garton to ease the pressure.
However, Harshal Patel gave Kohli’s men a much-needed breakthrough as he removed Gill. Rahul Tripathi replaced the opener and tried to keep the momentum on his team’s side. However, Yuzvendra Chahal showed him the pavilion in the seventh over to make things interesting.
Just like the Royal Challengers’ innings previously, Kolkata were at 70/2 at the halfway mark. Bangalore knew that they had to take wickets at regular intervals to win the match. Patel tried to ensure that by removing Iyer in the 11th over.
Narine had shown his instincts with the ball earlier on. Now, he started showing moments of magic with the bat as he demolished three consecutive sixes on his first three balls off Daniel Christian. The impact of those shots was so massive that they sealed the match for the Knight Riders.
Chahal gave some hope to Kohli’s men by getting rid of Nitesh Rana. In the last five overs, the two-time champions required 27 runs to win. There was more drama as Mohammed Siraj removed the left-handed batsman, with 14 runs still to get.
Even though Kolkata also lost Dinesh Karthik a few balls later, skipper, Eoin Morgan, came in to push his side to victory. In the last two overs, the Knight Riders required 12 runs. Eventually, the two-time champions clinched victory with two balls to spare.
