Sharjah – United Arab Emirates, First Published Oct 7, 2021, 11:12 PM IST
Sharjah: Kolkata Knight Riders almost secured fourth place in the play-offs with a convincing 86-run victory over Rajasthan Royals, the reigning IPL champions Mumbai Indians. Sanju Samson and his team were bowled out for just 85 in 16.1 overs to clinch the play-off ticket with a huge victory of 86 runs.Kolkata Knight Riders 171-4 in 20 overs, Rajasthan Royals 85 all out in 16.1 overs. 44
Rahul Thewatia is Rajasthan’s top scorer with runs. Apart from Thevatia, Shivam Dubey was the only Rajasthan batsman to score 18 runs. With Kolkata almost securing fourth place in the play-offs with a huge net run rate, Mumbai’s battle against Sunrisers Hyderabad tomorrow is almost irrelevant.
Rajasthan Lokit Loki and Mavi
When Kolkata set a target of 172, Rajasthan’s picture was clear. The only way left for Rajasthan was to fight back in the final match of the season. Loki Ferguson and Shivam Mavi completed the chase in the third ball of the first over when Shakib Al Hasan bowled Yashaswi Jaiswal (0) to give Rajasthan the lead.
Disappointed Sanju and team
After Jaiswal, Liam Livingston (6), Anuj Rawat (0), Loki Ferguson, skipper Sanju Samson (1), Shivam Dubey (18), Glenn Phillips (8) and Shivam Mavi were bowled out for 13-4 and 35-7. Rahul Tiwati (44 off 36 balls) was the only batsman to put Rajasthan ahead.
Rajasthan’s struggle came to an end when Chris Morris (0), Varun Chakraborty, Jayadev Unadghat (6), Ferguson and Shivam Mavi returned Thevatia. For Kolkata, Shiv Mavi took four wickets and Loki Ferguson three, while Shakib and Varun Chakraborty took one wicket each.
After losing the toss and opting to bat first, Kolkata opener Shubhman Gill scored 171 for four in 20 overs with a half-century. Shubman Gill was Kolkata’s top scorer with 56 off 44 balls. Venkatesh Iyer (38 off 35 balls) also shone for Kolkata.
Venkatesh Iyer and Shubhman Gill completed the power play without losing a wicket as Rajasthan miscalculated and held on to the slow pitch in Sharjah. At the end of the power play, Kolkata were on the scoreboard with 34 runs. Kolkata, however, were bowled out for 69 in 10 overs when Iyer and Gill broke the deadlock. Gill and Iyer parted ways after opening the innings with 79 runs in 10.5 overs. Rahul Thewatia, who bowled Iyer clean, gave Rajasthan its first break through. Nitish Rana (12 off 5 balls) got off to a good start by hitting Glenn Phillips for a six but Livingston came back with a catch in his attempt to hit the second six.
With Gill and Rahul Tripathi coming together at the crease, Kolkata is in top gear. Kolkata had secured the best score when Gill was out for a half-century off 40 balls. Rahul Tripathi (21) and Dinesh Karthik (14 off 11 balls) and Owen Morgan (13 off 11 balls) put Kolkata on 171 for the loss of four wickets in the final overs. Kolkata, who reached 135 in the 16th over, were all out for 35 in the last four overs. This is the highest team total this season in Sharjah. For Rajasthan, Chetan Zachariah, Chris Morris, Tiwati and Glenn Phillips took one wicket each.
Last Updated Oct 7, 2021, 11:17 PM IST
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