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Kolkata Knight Riders has been on a roll in the UAE leg of IPL 2021, as it would look to end Delhi Capitals' invulnerable run on Tuesday. In the same light, we present the match updates.
A win for KKR by 3 wickets. Hard-fought, but it eventually gets there, thanks to Narine's magical over against spinner Lalit. Read full report here....
OUT! Narine c Axar b Nortje 21 (10), Southee b Avesh 3 (5). KKR 130/7 (18.2). Batting: Rana 36 (27), Ferguson 0 (0).
Yet another wicket, as Karthik departs for 12 to pacer Avesh. However, a good over from Rana has brought KKR back in contention for the chase. Wickets in hand will keep KKR on top. 30 needed off 30.
OUT! Karthik b Avesh 12 (14). KKR 98/5 (15). Batting: Rana 30 (20, Narine 1 (1).
KKR loses a couple of more wickets, with Gill and Morgan departing, as DC has ignited a glimmer of hope of seeing this game through. 59 needed off 48.
OUT! Gill c Iyer b Rabada 30 (33), Morgan c Lalit b Ashwin 0 (2). KKR 69/4 (12). Batting: Rana 13 (14), Karthik 1 (3).
DC spinners are bowling it out quick, but KKR looks comfortably set with the bat. 66 needed off 66.
KKR 62/2 (9). Batting: Gill 29 (26), Rana 8 (8).
A couple of setbacks for KKR, as Venkatesh and Tripathi have departed early. However, KKR is off to a strong start and looks favourite to win. 84 needed off 84,
OUT! Venkatesh b Lalit 14 (15), Tripathi c Smith b Avesh 9 (5). KKR 44/2 (6). Batting: Gill 19 (15), Rana 0 (1).
Steady start by KKR, as Gill and Venkatesh, look to be in good touch. DC has put its spinners into the attack straightaway.
KKR 22/0 (3). Batting: Iyer 11 (10), Gill 10 (8).
Three more wickets have fallen, but a misfield and a dropped catch have allowed DC to finish at 127/9, which is defendable if bowled properly. However, no sixes were hot in the innings.
OUT! Ashwin c Rana b Southee 9 (8), Pant run out (Karun Nair/Karthik) 39 (36), Avesh Khan run out (Karthik) 5 (3). DC 127/9 (20). Batting: Rabada 0 (1).
Axar is the sixth wicket to fall after being trapped leg-before by Venkatesh for an unfortunate duck. With Pant still out in the middle, it would target somewhere around 130.
DC 110/6 (18). Batting: Pant 29 (30), Ashwin 8 (6).
Three more wickets have fallen as Smith, Hetmyer and Lalit are the ones to walk back. DC does look in trouble, with KKr bowlers rolling through.
OUT! Smith b Ferguson 39 (34), Hetmyer c Southee b Venkatesh 4 (5), Lalit lbw b Narine 0 (3). DC 89/5 (15). Batting: Axar 0 (3), Pant 19 (20).
No further harm done, but the DC batsmen are struggling to score, while the KKR bowlers have limited the scoring chance.
DC 77/2 (12). Batting: Smith 39 (32), Pant 11 (15).
The second breakthrough is here, as mystery spinner Narine cleans up Iyer for a mere single. As Pant walks in, DC has been careful hereon, bring up its slowest 50 of the season.
OUT! Iyer b Narine 1 (5). DC 52/2 (9). Batting: Smith 22 (22), Pant 4 (7).
The first breakthrough is here for KKR, as Dhawan has fallen for 24 to Ferguson. Nevertheless, it marks the arrival of the in-form Iyer, as KKR has some job to do.
OUT! Dhawan c Venkatesh b Ferguson 24 (20). DC 22/0 (6). Batting: Smith 13 (12), Iyer 1 (4).
An emphatic start by the DC openers, as Dhawan and Smith have attacked the KKR pacers so far. However, it won't be long before the bowlers start getting breakthroughs, as the openers aim to utilise the Powerplay to the fullest.
DC 39/1 (6). Batting: Smith 13 (12), Iyer 1 (4).
Toss: KKR opts to bowl.
Eoin Morgan: We're bowling first. I don't know what the wicket will be like, but it's not a belter and not too bad, so somewhere in between. Setting a score might be a challenge, so we'll try bowling. As a team, we are focused on taking it game by game. We have played good cricket in the second half, and we have gone up from the second-last position, and we want to continue that performance. My performance has been a roller-coaster, so as long as the team is doing well. Sandeep Warrier comes in for Prasidh Krishna, and Southee comes in for Andre Russell.
Rishabh Pant: We were looking to bat first anyway. We don't know what the conditions are like. 150-160 should be good since the wicket seems slow. We are looking to take one match at a time and hope we can win the game and qualify for the playoffs for sure. Prithvi is injured, and Steve Smith comes in; that's the only change.
Playing XI
KKR: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier.
DC: Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Avesh Khan.
Hello and welcome to Asianet Newsable's live coverage of the 2021 Indian Premier League's (IPL) Match 41 between former champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. With both teams in bulletproof form, we present the live updates here. Read match review here....
KKR has won four of its ten games so far and is located at the fourth spot, while it is entirely in contention for the playoffs. It has won two of the three games in UAE, missing out on its last game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) off the final ball. As for DC, it is second in the table, having won eight from ten, while a win here would seal its berth for the playoffs, having to be unbeaten in UAE this season.
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The two sides have faced each other on 28 occurrences and are head-on, with KKR possessing a lead of 14-13, while in 27 clashes in the IPL, KKR has a charge of 14-12. Of their three games in UAE, DC has a lead 2-1, while they have clashed one in Sharjah, with DC winning.
LIVE SCORECARD: IPL 2021 - KKR vs DC
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The weather in a deserty Sharjah is withering with 38 degrees of temperature and 53% humidity. The track has been surprisingly slow in the two games witnessed so far. Nonetheless, considering the smaller boundaries, runs can be expected, and the side winning the toss could look to bat first to avoid a slower track later in the innings.
Probable XI
KKR: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell/ Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy and Prasidh Krishna.
DC: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav/ Steve Smith, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Avesh Khan.