KKR vs DC, IPL 2021 Qualifier 2: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi CapitalsKolkata Knight Riders survived a middle order collapse to defeat Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets to book their berth in the IPL final. KKR got off to a flying start, courtesy of their openers Shubman Gill (46) and Venkatesh Iyer (55). It looked like an easy chase till a cluster of wickets in the last two-three overs turned the game upside down. From needing 11 off 3 overs to needing 6 off 2, KKR almost shot themselves in the foot. But Rahul Tripathi hit a six in the penultimate ball of the last over to send KKR fans home happy.
Earlier, KKR, led by mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, produced a clinical bowling display on a slow pitch to restrict Delhi Capitals to 135 for 5.
Match EndedIndian Premier League, 2021 - Qualifier 2
Kolkata Knight Riders
136/7 (19.5)vs
Delhi Capitals
135/5 (20.0)Match Ended ( Day - Qualifier 2 )
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets
Live Blog
KKR wanted 7 runs in 6 balls for a place in the final. Rahul Tripathi could have easily made it "1 run in 5 balls" had he shown the deserving disrespect to Ashwin's rank long-hop. He did swing the bat but the ball rolled to long-on, and equally slowly Tripathi would drag his feet to the non-striker's end. Had he missed the chance to be the hero? The next 4 balls had every possible emotion packed into them. Players on field, those in the dugouts, WAGs in the guest boxes, owners in the VVIP suits were all on one crazy stadium-sized rollercoaster - feeling a heady rush one moment and nauseating the next. Those manic final moments had a couple of embarrassing ducks, one almost-six. Ashwin looked like he was finally having his big IPL moment and Pant was on the threshold of being called the next Dhoni. While all this was happening, Rahul would have been burning within for not taking Ashwin's early gift. On second thoughts, had he killed the climax on the first ball of the final over, it would have been so un-IPLish. KKR, a franchise owned by a Bollywood star, reaching the final without drama would have been so unreal. Next time Rahul was on strike, he didn't miss out. This time the ball sailed over the long-on boundary. Tripathi gave his toothy smile to the delight of the KKR dugout and the millions of pandals around the world. Like in most movies, Rahul first tied himself in knots and when the world thought he was trapped, he cut loose. Just like those Bollywood Rahuls.
Delhi Daredevils in 2012
Gujarat Lions in 2016
Delhi Capitals in 2021
And a 6 to end it. Delhi were so close but yet so far. Tripathi just pumps it over the bowler's end. It's done. KKR win by 3 wickets
And Narine is gone too. What an over by Ashwin. KKR 130/7 after 19.4 overs.
Ashwin comes to bowl. Last over. 1 run off the first ball. And Shakib is gone. KKR are just throwing away this match. 130/6 after 19.3 overs.
Nortje is there to bowl the 19th over. Two off the first ball. Just 2 runs can relieve the pressure now. Just 3 off the over. The pressure is on KKR again. And Morgan is gone. The skipper is gone. KKR 129/5 after 19 overs.
Rabada to bowl the 18th over. Four dots in a row. Pressure is mounting on KKR now. And he has taken a wicket. Oh my!!! Karthik is gone. Just 1 off the over and a wicket. Surely not? KKR 126/4
Avesh in the attack. And now Gill is scalped. Has been caught by Pant behind the wicket. Gill is done. KKR 125/3 after 16.4 overs.
Nortje in the attack. And he is hit for a 6. Gill gives it all. What a pull shot. Clears long on. KKR can almost taste victory now. And rana is taken by him off the last ball. Some revenge but might be too late. KKR 123/2 after 16 overs.
The only slow-and-steady act that R Ashwin did in his first three overs was tying Venkatesh Iyer’s shoelaces carefully. Iyer had requested Ashwin to sort out his laces which had come undone, and Ashwin immediately stopped wiping the dew off the ball and helped out. His bowling though was disappointingly defensive. He kept firing the ball or side-arming them in an effort to contain rather than take wickets. Perhaps, it was the dew factor but Ashwin the high-class off spinner who outwit Eoin Morgan the other night with a lovely loopy off break or the gutsy one who dared to toss it up and take out the likes of Chris Gayle and Rohit Sharma in the past was missing. Instead, we had the version who just kept firing them in. He would furiously towel-dry the ball and remained defensive. Even the fields set for him by Rishabh Pant right from the second over of the chase was defensive. There didn’t seem any clear plan for taking wickets and both Iyer and Shubman Gill kept punching and driving him to rotate the strike. He'd drop a sitter a few overs later.
And Rana joins the party. A 6 off Patel's 4th ball. Right over the bowler's head. 10 runs off the over. KKR comfortable. KKR 108/1 after 14 overs.
Rabada returns and is welcomed by a 4 off the first ball. Outside edge and a little lucky but runs nonetheless. But he takes his revenge. Huge wicket. Iyer goes. He is caught by Smith. KKR 96/1 after 12.2 overs.
And 50 up for Iyer. is third fifty of the season. Just 4 off over 12. Kolkata Knight Riders 92/0 after 12 overs.
Nortje in the attack. And Iyer has hit him for a 4 off the tird ball. These openers are not holding anything back.And a wide. Goes for a boundary. Not something that is needed at this juncture. Absolute gift. 12 runs off the over. KKR 88/0 after 11 overs.
Axar comes into bowl the 10th over and his first ball is promptly hit for a 6. Clobbered over deep midwicket and it's the freeflowing swing through the line.9 off the over. KKR 76/0 after 10 overs.
Ashwin is brought back into the attack. Both batters are batting without a helmet now. Good over by Ashwin. Just 5 off it. KKR 56/0 after 7 overs.
Avesh comes to bowl the last over of the powerplay and gets smacked for a 4 in his first ball. The dew has started playing a factor. It's very difficult to get a grip on the ball. 9 off the over. KKR 51/0 after 6 overs.
And now Rabada is hit for a 6 by Iyer. Off the third ball again. Nonchalantly wallops this over long-on. oh. He has dropped him. Should have been taken. 12 off the over. KKR 42/0 after 5 overs.
Axar Patel gets hit for a 6 in the third ball of the 4th over. Clobbered that over deep midwicket! Onto the roof. That has gone out of the park. 9 runs off the over. KKR 30/0 after 4 overs.
Ashwin will bowl the second over. And Iyer hits a 4 off hios third ball. 9 off this over. KKR 15/0 after 2 overs.
And Gill has hit the first ball for a 4. What a lovely shot to get off the mark. Good comeback by the bowler. Just 2 off the remaining 5. KKR 6/0 after 1 over.
Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill out for Kolkata Knight Riders. They will face Nortje.
And the last over starts. Mavi to bowl this one. And Iyer hits a 4 off his second ball. Important runs. And a 6 to end the over. Great shot by Iyer. Delhi finish at 135/5 after 20 overs.
And Hetmyer is gone now. He is run out. Absolutely no run there. DC 117/5 after 18.3 overs.
And Hetmyer hits a 6 off ferguson's second ball. This was what they needed. And another one to end the over. DC get 15 off the over. DC 114/4 after 18 overs.
And Varun takes Hetmyer. What a stunning catch by Gill. KKR looking dangerous. But no. He survives. It's a no ball.
It was only a cursory smile, but its significance couldn't be understated. Shikhar Dhawan was looking a fish out of water against Lockie Ferguson's pace. Ferguson bowled a 152-kph thunderbolt and Dhawan wanted to play it past point. But the Delhi Capitals opener was a little late and the ball zipped past. The next delivery came at 148 kph, the southpaw charged down the track, aiming to flay it over point. Yet again, he was beaten for pace. Another express delivery followed, fuller and thudding on to the pad. Dhawan still wasn't off the mark. An over later, he was up against Sunil Narine's mystery and the first ball beat the bat again. Pressure was mounting, when Narine bowled a friendly full-toss, allowing Dhawan to break the shackles. The getting out of jail shot deserved a smile, relief writ large on his face.
And Delhi are 4 down as Ferguson bags Pant's wicket. Skies it and is caught by Tripathi. DC 90/4 after 15.2 overs.
Prithvi Shaw had no chance once he didn’t read the ball from the hands of Varun Chakravarthy. He had plonked his front foot forward and across and waited for his doom. The ball from Chakravarthy landed on a length and broke in to rap the pad first before it hit the bat. The appeal went up with the umpire K N Ananthapadmanabhan , who was a leg spinner with a good googly in his playing days and took his time to agree with the increasingly-angsty Chakravarthy and Dinesh Karthik. Shaw lingered for a while to check with his partner if he should go for DRS but Shikhar Dhawan’s suggestion was to check the replay on the dressing-room television. Ananthapadmanabhan is well-respected umpire in domestic cricket and in the 2019 Ranji season, he umpired from both ends in the final as the other umpire got injured and the replacement was to arrive only later. His role model in umpiring is S Venkataragavan, whose brusque manner seems to have afflicted Ananthapadmanabhan who can be quite stern if the players carry on with their appeals or unnecessarily question his decisions.
Pant gets off the mark with a 4. Misfield at fine leg by Mavi, and that allows a boundary. 7 off the over with one wicket. Great over. DC 90/3 after 15 overs.
And varun takes out Dhawan. This is why he was brought back. Brilliant catch by Shakib. Delhi 83/3 after 14.1 overs as we go to timeout.
Shakib back in the attack. Time for delhi batters to get going. Just a few more overs to go. Great over to finish his spell by Shakib. Just 4 off this over. DC 77/2 after 13 overs.
Mavi back in the attack. And he takes Marcus Stoinis. Huge wicket. Breaks the steady partnership. Clean bowled. DC 71/2 after 11.3 overs.
Varun comes to bowl the 10th over. Can he take another one? Dhawan hits a 4 in his third ball. 10 off the over. DC 65/1 after 10 overs.
After timeout, we are back again. The last over was a brilliant one from Mavi. Had just conceded 3 off the 8th over. Narine is back to bowl the 9th over and it's a great over. Just 3 off it as well. DC 55/1 after 9 overs.
After a missed stumping effort, Stoinis lets one fly for 4 off Shakib. 11 off this over. Delhi Capitals 49/1 after 7 overs.
Ferguson is brought into the attack. Last over of the powerplay. Good over. Keeps them restricted to 4 runs in this over. After powerplay, DC are 38/1 after 6 overs.
More spin introduced in the form of Varun. And gone. Strike one for Varun. Shaw is gone. DC 32/1 after 4.1 overs.
Time for Narine magic. And Dhawan has hit this one hard. What a 6. And another to follow. He is hitting them everywhere. What a start. 14 off the 4th over. DC 32/0 after 4 overs.
Shakib starts the third over and is hit by a 6 by Shaw. That did not take long. And follows up the second with a four. He is getting into second gear. 12 off the over. DC 18/0 after 3 overs.
And Ferguson is hit for a 4 in his first ball by Shaw. Nice comeback by Lockie. Just 1 off the next 5 balls. DC 6/0 after 2 overs.
Shakib in to bowl. 5 dots off the first over. Just 1 off it. DC 1/0 after 1 over.
Prithvi Shaw and Dhawan are at the crease. Prithvi Shaw is on strike. Shakib will open the attack
DC 12- 15 KKR. The last time these two sides met, KKR won by 3 wickets. DC were restricted to 127/9 and KKR chased it down in 18.2 overs, thanks to a 10-ball 21 from Narine. Interestingly, KKR hit 7 sixes compared to DC's zero, a tactic that is straight from the Brendon McCullum playbook.
Delhi Capitals XI: S Dhawan, P Shaw, S Iyer, R Pant, M Stoinis, S Hetmyer, A Patel, R Ashwin, K Rabada, A Khan, A Nortje
Kolkata Knight Riders XI: S Gill, V Iyer, R Tripathi, N Rana, E Morgan, D Karthik, S Al Hasan, S Narine, L Ferguson, V Chakaravarthy, S Mavi
Up goes the coin. Morgan wins the toss and opts to field against the Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Axar Patel, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Tom Curran/Marcus Stoinis, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Avesh Khan.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.
Read more: KKR vs DC predicted lineups
Hello and welcome to the live commentary of Qualifier 2 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in Sharjah. On Monday, KKR beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets in Sharjah itself. Their bowlers restricted RCB to 138 after which the batters did their job. Sunil Narine was exceptional with both bat and ball and he ended up getting the Player of the Match award for his all-round show.
The Capitals, on the other hand, will be going into the game after their four-wicket loss at the hands of Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 1. In that match, Tom Curran failed to defend 13 runs in the last. When the two teams last met, it was the Knight Riders, who came out trumps in Sharjah itself.