Kolkata Knight Riders have taken a massive step towards taking the fourth and final playoffs spot in the ongoing IPL 2021 thanks to a crushing 86-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah on Thursday night. Shivam Mavi (4/21) and Lockie Ferguson (3/18) starred with the ball as RR were skittled for 85 in 16.1 overs in their chase of 172.
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At one stage, RR were in tatters at 32/7 and staring towards the ignominy of being bowled out for the lowest ever total in IPL history. However, Rahul Tewatia struck 44 off 36 to help them avoid the humiliation but couldn’t prevent the morale-sapping defeat.
The massive victory, KKR’s seventh of the season, means they have improved their net run rate to 0.587 and it will take a record-breaking effort from Mumbai Indians, with a nrr of -0.048, to make the playoffs ahead of Knight Riders.
Earlier, opener Shubman Gill hit a second consecutive fifty as KKR registered the highest score at the venue this season, posting a competitive 171/4 their final IPL league match. Gilll (56 off 44) and Venkatesh Iyer (38 off 35) got KKR’s innings to a rollicking start after being put into bat, stitching 79 runs for the opening stand.
Rahul Tripathi (21), Dinesh Karthik (14 not out off 11) and skipper Eoin Morgan (13 not out off 11) also played good hands towards the end to take KKR to past the 170-run mark.
Young left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya was the pick of the bowkers for RR with figures of 1/23. Riding on Gill and Iyer’s impressive start, KKR reached 50 in the eighth over.
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Iyer didn’t curb his natural instinct and first clobbered Jaydev Unadkat over the deep midwicket boundary and then straight over the bowlers’s head two bowler’s later to accumulate 14 runs off the 10th over as KKR reached 75 for no loss at the halfway mark.
Inspired by Iyer’s power-hitting, Gill then joined the party and welcomed Rahul Tewatia with a maximum.
But Tewatia had the last laugh as he gave his side the important breakthrough when he went through the defence of Iyer between his legs as the left-hander went for an extravagant reverse sweep.
RR skipper then introduced Glenn Phillips into the attack but the off-spinner went for 17 runs, albeit he picked up the wicket of Nitish Rana in the process.
Rahul Tripathi was lucky to get a reprieve as he was dropped by Samson when he outside edged a full delivery off Mustafizur Rahman in the last ball of the 13th over.
Tripathi cashed in on the chance and struck Shivam Dube for back-to-back boundaries in the next over. Nitish Rana played a 5-ball 12-run cameo before Karthik and Morgan joined hands to end KKR’s innings on a high.
With PTI inputs
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