Strong KKR dismantle Delhi’s hope of maiden IPL win, to face CSK in final.
Vivo IPL 2021: The flamboyant Knight Riders, who turned their fortunes into their favour in the second leg of the Vivo IPL 2021, have now advanced to the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season fourteen after defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) in the qualifier 2, last night.
Table-toppers Delhi Capitals (DC’s) hopes of lifting their maiden IPL title in the Vivo IPL 2021 ended with three consecutive losses at the business end of the tournament. DC lost the crucial qualifier 2 against KKR by 3 wickets to end their IPL 2021 campaign.
KKR nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when DC turned the match into their favour in the final four overs. The two times IPL winners, out of nowhere, witnessed an unpardonable debacle from 125/2 to 130/7 in a matter of mere four overs.
Eoin Morgan and Co required seven runs from the last over when Rishabh Pant turned to his most experienced bowler, Ravichandran Ashwin. The off-spinner almost sealed the match into DC’s bag as he dismissed Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine in two consecutive deliveries. The spinner conceded a mere 1 run from his four deliveries and picked up two wickets.
Ashwin’s only task was to defend six runs from two deliveries after two back to back wickets. However, striker Rahul Tripathi got the job done for the Knight Riders with a winning six in the penultimate delivery. KKR won the match with one ball to spare.
ALSO READ: Vivo IPL 2021: No explanation on why I was sacked from the captaincy of SRH: David Warner
The Men in Purple were always going to win qualifier 2 after they showed collective efforts on the field with both bat and ball. Their bowlers restricted the Capitals (DC) to a below-par total of 135 runs with Varun Chakravarthy picking two fishes while Lokie Ferguson and Shivam Mavi got one apiece in their bag.
KKR openers Shubman Gill and Ventakesh Iyer stitched a beautiful, match-winning partnership up-front to take his side to the final in a cakewalk. The two openers added a massive 96 runs before the fell of Venkatesh Iyer in the 13th over.
The incoming batsman Nitish Rana did provide some help to his partner Shubman Gill and added another 25 runs to walk an inch closer to the victory before Rana was dismissed by Anrich Nortje.
The abrupt collapse of KKR batting happened and the side lost five of its crucial wickets in just seven runs, losing the grip of an easy win. KKR survived what could have been the most dramatic turnaround of the match in the history of cricket after Rahul Tripathi performed a little rescue operation to neutralise the two types of emotions on the field.
With the win, KKR has stepped into the final of the IPL for the third time and will face already settled Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Dubai International Stadium on 15th October.
ALSO READ: All-rounder Shardul Thakur has replaced Axar Patel in India’s T20 World Cup 2021 Squad