Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Delhi Capitals in a thriller in the second Qualifier in IPL 2021 as they reached the final for the third time, having won the titles in 2012 and 2014.
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Kolkata Knight Riders were two balls away from being eliminated in dramatic circumstances against Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2021. Delhi Capitals were restricted to 135/5 and Kolkata Knight Riders needed 13 off 25 balls. Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill were in fine form as both took the attack to the Delhi Capitals bowlers. But, Delhi Capitals staged a remarkable comeback. In the 17th over, Kolkata Knight Riders managed just two runs while in the next over, they lost a wicket and conceded just one run. Things became dramatic in the 19th over when Kolkata Knight Riders hit just three runs.
Ravichandran Ashwin bowled the final over and got the wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine for 0. Kolkata Knight Riders needed six runs off two balls, seemingly squandering a position of victory. But, Rahul Tripathi smashed a six off the fifth ball to seal a nerve-wracking win for Kolkata Knight Riders. The emotions of the Delhi Capitals players were there for everyone to see. Prithvi Shaw was crying and so was Rishabh Pant. The rest of the players were stunned.
This was the third time that Kolkata Knight Riders entered the final of IPL. In 2012 and 2014, Kolkata Knight Riders were crowned the champions. They will now meet Chennai Super Kings in a repeat of 2012 final. Here is a recollection of their journey
The first game of IPL 2021 started brightly for Kolkata Knight Riders. Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi set the tone with a 93-run stand. Rana smashed 80 and Tripathi chipped in with 53. Dinesh Karthik’s late blitz of 22 from nine balls helped Kolkata Knight Riders reach 187/6. Sunrisers Hyderabad started poorly but a 92-run stand between Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey gave them hope. Bairstow smashed 55 and Pandey chipped in with 61 but Kolkata Knight Riders piled the pressure. In the end, Kolkata Knight Riders held their nerve to win by 10 runs.
The ultimate choke. It is no hidden fact that Kolkata Knight Riders’ horrendous head-to-head record against Mumbai Indians is a major blot on their history. The weight of that head-to-head disparity surely played on their minds in the clash with the five-time champions. Mumbai Indians reached 152 all out thanks to the exploits of Suryakumar Yadav who hit 56. However, Andre Russell’s late haul of 5/15 gave Kolkata Knight Riders a chance. Nitish Rana hit another fifty and he was well supported by Shubman Gill. At 104/2, they needed 49 runs off 43 balls. However, a collapse in the death overs, aided by excellent bowling from Jasprit Bumrah saw Kolkata Knight Riders stumble to 142/7. Their loss by 10 runs was their 22nd in 28 encounters against Mumbai Indians.
The only game where they were outplayed in all departments. Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers put on a magnificent show in Chennai. Maxwell blasted 78 off 49 balls which included nine fours and three sixes. De Villiers hit 76 off 34 balls which included nine fours and three sixes. The partnership of Maxwell and de Villiers got Royal Challengers Bangalore to 204/4. In response, Kolkata Knight Riders’ batsmen got starts but none converted it into a big score. Andr Russell threatened for a while but Kyle Jamieson’s 3/41 gave Royal Challengers Bangalore a big win.
Chennai Super Kings put on a tremendous exhibition of batting. Faf du Plessis smashed 95 and he was well supported by Ruturaj Gaikwad who hit 64. The 115-run opening stand laid the platform for a big score. Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, and Ravindra Jadeja built on du Plessis’ knock to help Chennai Super Kings reach 220/3. In response, Kolkata Knight Riders had a horror start being reduced to 31/5. But, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, and Pat Cummins all decided to fight.
Russell blasted 54 off 22 balls while Karthik chipped in with 40 off 24 balls. The 81-run stand gave Kolkata Knight Riders some hope. But, Pat Cummins stole the show by hitting five sixes in one over bowled by Sam Curran. Cummins’ knock of 66 gave KKR a big hope but in the end, Chennai Super Kings pulled it back. The early spell of Deepak Chahar who took 4/29 proved to be costly for the two-time champions.
The Kolkata Knight Riders batting unit was struggling in the middle stages of the IPL. Chris Morris took a haul of 4/23 to restrict KKR to 133/9. Rahul Tripathi was the top scorer with 36 but no one else supported him. Sanju Samson and David Miller were in fine form and they guided Rajasthan Royals over the line by six wickets. At this stage, KKR was languishing at the bottom of the table.
Kolkata Knight Riders snapped their losing streak in grand style with a superb all-round performance. Prasidh Krishna was the star with 3/30 and he got great support from Shivam Mavi, Cummins, and Narine. The total of 123/9 was not going to trouble the Kolkata Knight Riders but they made life difficult for themselves. KKR was reduced to 17/3 but Tripathi, along with Eoin Morgan steadied the ship. Morgan smashed 47 as Kolkata Knight Riders crossed the line.
Yet again, Kolkata Knight Riders were outplayed by an opponent in all facets. They started badly against Delhi Capitals as they were reduced to 82/5. However, Andre Russell ended the innings in style as he blasted 45 off 27 balls with four sixes. Kolkata Knight Riders would have thought a total of 154/6 would be good. But, Prithvi Shaw was in fine form. He blasted six fours in one over bowled by his U19 team-mate Shivam Mavi as he raced to 82 off 41 balls. He got good support from Shikhar Dhawan who hit 46. Shaw’s knock gave Delhi Capitals a big win. With this loss, Kolkata Knight Riders were in seventh position with their campaign seemingly over.
With the pandemic forcing the IPL to be halted, the tournament resumed in the UAE after six months. But, the break seemed to have helped Kolkata Knight Riders as they came back a different team altogether. Varun Chakravarthy and Andre Russell took three wickets apiece as Royal Challengers Bangalore were bowled out for a woeful 92. Shubman Gill and the introduction of Venkatesh Iyer helped Kolkata Knight Riders chase down a target in just 10 overs. This helped their NRR in a big way.
Perhaps the game that helped KKR get immense self-belief. Mumbai Indians started well with Quinton de Kock smashing 55 off 42 balls. The 78-run stand with Rohit Sharma gave the five-time champions a good platform. But, Lockie Ferguson bowled well in the death overs to take 2/27 as Mumbai Indians were restricted to a score of 155/6. The match saw two youngsters take the attack to the Mumbai Indians bowlers. Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi were the stars as they smashed aggressive half-centuries. Iyer hit 53 off 30 balls while Tripathi smashed 74 off 42 balls. KKR won the match and snapped their massive losing streak against Mumbai Indians in a big way.
This was a match that they were close to winning. KKR’s batting unit fired with most of the middle order getting starts. But, Tripathi was the highest-scorer with 45 while Nitish Rana chipped in with a valuable cameo of 37 from 27 balls. Aided by Karthik’s 11-ball 26, KKR reached 171/6. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, and Moeen Ali all chipped in to put Chennai Super Kings on course for an easy win. But, the middle overs saw KKR fightback. Chakravarthy and Narine both kept a tight lid on the scoring. However, Jadeja turned the match by smashing 20 runs, which included two fours and two sixes in one over bowled by Prasidh Krishna.
However, Narine was in fine form as he conceded just three runs in the first five balls and took two wickets. But, Deepak Chahar kept his nerve and smashed the winning run to dent KKR’s momentum.
The bowling unit was the star in this crucial win for KKR. Venkatesh Iyer, Lockie Ferguson and Narine all took two wickets apiece as Delhi Capitals struggled to 127/9. Not a single six was hit, with Rishabh Pant top-scoring with 39 off 36 balls. Even KKR struggled with the bat. Avesh Khan took three wickets to give the side some hope. However, Nitish Rana hit 36 off 27 balls and aided by Narine’s 21 off 10 balls, KKR just crawled across the line by three wickets with 10 balls to spare.
This game almost derailed KKR’s charge to the playoffs. Iyer was once again the star with a blazing 67 off 49 balls. But, the rest of the batting failed to put up a fight, with Tripathi and Rana hitting 34 and 31. Kolkata Knight Riders’ total of 165/7 seemed to be good. But, KL Rahul had other plans. He blasted 67 off 55 balls and got good support from Mayank Agarwal. Punjab Kings stuttered slightly in the middle overs but Mohammad Shahrukh Khan hit 22 off nine balls to give Punjab Kings a crucial win that kept their chances alive.
Tim Southee came into the side and he immediately made an impact. He took 2/26 and aided by Mavi and Chakravarthy, Sunrisers Hyderabad were reduced to 115/8 in 20 overs. Shubman Gill ensured that there were no further hassles for KKR as he hit a glorious fifty. Although KKR lost wickets towards the end, the knock by Gill was enough to give them a big win.
This was the game that sealed their spot in the knockout stages. Needing a win, Gill and Iyer once again laid a solid platform. The 79-run opening stand saw Gill hit yet another fifty. KKR reached 171/4 but Rajasthan Royals were blown away by a superb spell of bowling from Shivam Mavi. His haul of 4/21, combined with Ferguson’s 3/18 bowled Rajasthan Royals out for a woeful 85. Rajasthan Royals got the wooden spoon again while Kolkata Knight Riders entered the Eliminator stage of the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders ended Virat Kohli’s tenure as an IPL captain on a disappointing note. The match also saw Narine’s reputation as a T20 legend cemented. In a brilliant spell of bowling, he too the wickets of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers and Srikar Bharat in a brilliant spell of 4/21. It was his spell that allowed KKR to restrict RCB’s batting unit to 138/7. RCB, though, were making it tough for the opposition to reach an easy win.
However, they were benefited by one misjudgment from Kohli. He decided to give one over to Dan Christian and Narine hit three sixes in his one over which yielded 22 runs. KKR stuttered towards the end, but they managed to get over the line with two balls to spare. Kohli thus ended his captaincy without a single IPL title and remarkably, KKR reached the next qualifier where they would beat Delhi Capitals and enter the final.
