Highlights:
- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face Delhi Capitals (DC) in the second Qualifier.
- KKR beat the 139-run goal with two balls to spare.
- Sunil Narine’s four-wicket haul and brilliant knock of 26 helped him stand out in a thrilling battle.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 Eliminator in Sharjah on Monday, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by four wickets. Sunil Narine set up the victory with a four-for-21 stint and then shined with the bat, hitting three sixes in an over off Daniel Christian to help KKR over the finish line. After limiting RCB to 138/7, KKR chased down the 139-run target to go to Qualifier 2, where they will face Delhi Capitals for a spot in the final.
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During his four-over stint, Narine ran through the RCB middle order. The West Indies spinner bowled out Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, KS Bharat, and Glenn Maxwell to break the back of RCB’s dreaded batting line-up.
In addition to Narine, Lockie Frerguson got two wickets for KKR after Eoin Morgan lost the toss.
KKR openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer provided a strong start as the duo scored 41 runs in the first five overs while chasing 139 for the victory.
Harshal Patel, the Purple Cap holder, made the breakthrough for RCB by dismissing Gill for 29.
Rahul Tripathi was next removed for six by Yuzvendra Chahal before Harshal struck again to send Iyer back.
With Iyer’s wicket, Harshal equaled Dwayne Bravo’s record of 32 wickets in a single IPL season.
With the asking rate rising due to the loss of quick wickets, KKR opted to pitch Narine ahead of Dinesh Karthik, and the decision paid off as the lefty took Daniel Christian to the cleaners, putting pressure back on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Narine smashed three sixes to put the game squarely in KKR’s hands.
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Despite a late recovery from Chahal and Mohammed Siraj, who removed Dinesh Karthik and Sunil Narine in the same over, KKR eventually knocked down the goal with two balls to spare, securing a place in the second Qualifier.
Qualifier 2 will take place on October 13 at the Sharjah Cricket Ground.
