Speed Post News Network
Patna : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stormed into final of IPL 2021 defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) by 3 wickets in IPL Qualifier 2 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE, on October 13, 2021, late night, with openers Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill scoring 55 and 46 runs. Gill and Iyer added 96 runs for the first wicket. Rahul Tripathi, who remained unbeaten on 12 in 11 balls, hit the winning six off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin when KKR needed 6 runs in two balls. KKR had won the toss and opted to bowl and restricted DC to 135/5 in 20 overs with opener Shikhar Dhawan scoring 36 runs.
Chasing a target of 136 runs, KKR scored 136/7 in 19.5 overs although spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took 2 wickets on third and fourth ball of the last over. KKR, however, made a mess of the chase after losing the wicket Iyer at 96 slipping to 130/7 after 19.4 overs. They were 123/2.
DC fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje took 2 wickets each. Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also took 2 wickets while fast bowler Avesh Khan took 1 wicket.
KKR captain fell to Nortje for zero while Shabib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine fell to Ashwin on successive balls in last over. Dinesh Karthik (wk) fell to Kagiso Rabada for zero. Shubman Gill fell to Avsh Khan while Iyer fell to Rabada. Iyer hit 3 sixes including 2 off spinner Axar Patel and 1 off Rabada. Gill hit a six off Nortje.