Kolkata Knight Riders continues to be in the race for IPL 2021 playoffs, as it looks to seal its berth with an emphatic win over Rajasthan Royals. Catch all the live updates here.
Mavi has his final man, as he knocks down Tewatia for 44. KKR wins by a massive 87 runs and is certainly through to the playoffs unless MI pulls off a miracle tomorrow. Read the full match report here....
OUT! Sakariya run out (Shakib/Karthik) 1 (5), Tewatia b Mavi 44 (36). RR 85 (16.1). Batting: Rahman 0 (3).
No harm done, but it seems all over for RR. 89 needed off 30.
RR 83/8 (15). Batting: Tewatia 43 (33, Sakariya 1 (4).
Another man goes down, as Unadkat walks back to Ferguson for six. However, Tewatia seems to be producing some fireworks. Remember his innings last season against Sheldon Cottrell in this ground last season? 106 needed off 48.
OUT! Unadkat c Shakib b Ferguson 6 (5). RR 66/8 (12). Batting: Tewatia 27 (19), Sakariya 0 (0).
Three more wickets are down, as Phillips, Mavi and Morris are back in the hut as well. It's just a matter of time now. KKR is already a foot into the playoffs room, while RR, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) might be starting to pack their bags. 137 needed off 66.
OUT! Phillips b Mavi 8 (12), Dube b Mavi 18 (20), Morris lbw b Chakravarthy 0 (2). RR 35/7 (9). Batting: Tewatia 2 (6)
KKR has struck early, as RR has lost four wickets within the powerplay. Dube and Phillips are looking to provide some fightback, but for how long? 142 needed off 78
OUT! Jaiswal b Shakib 0 (3), Samson c Morgan b Mavi 1 (4), Livingstone c Tripathi b Ferguson 6 (6), Rawat lbw b Ferguson 0 (1). RR 30/4 (7). Batting: Dube 17 (18), Phillips 6 (10).
KKR finishes on 171/4, which is the highest score at this venue this season. It would be challenging for RR to chase this down, but not impossible, especially after having chased 190 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, the conditions are vastly different here.
KKR 171/4 (20). Batting: Karthik 14 (11), Morgan 13 (11).
A couple of more wickets are down, as Gill and Tripathi have gone. How much more can Karthik and Morgan contribute hereon? Is 170 on the cards?
OUT! Gill c Jaiswal b Chris Morris 56 (44), Tripathi b Sakariya 21 (14). KKR 148/4 (18). Batting: Karthik 11 (7), Morgan 1 (3).
No harm done, Gill has brought up his ninth IPL half-century. Also, he is being supported by Tripathi, as both are attacking the bowlers regularly.
KKR 127/2 (15). Batting: Gill 52 (41), Tripathi 18 (9).
A couple of wickets have fallen, as Iyer and Rana are gone. However, Gill seems to be in form and is taking the attack to the RR bowlers.
OUT! Iyer b Tewatia 38 (35), Rana c Livingstone b Phillips 12 (5). KKR 97/2 (12). Batting: Gill 36 (31), Tripathi 4 (2).
The same story continues, as the KKR openers are compelled to take it slow.
KKR 55/0 (9). Batting: Gill 26 (26), Iyer 24 (28).
No harm done to the KKR openers, but the slow start continues. The pitch seems slow to be scored, while the bowling and fielding for RR has been impeccable.
KKR 34/0 (6). Batting: Gill 18 (18), Iyer 13 (18).
A slow start by the KKR openers, as the RR pacers have bowled tight so far.
KKR 17/0 (3). Batting: Gill 8 (10), Iyer 7 (8).
Jaidev Unadkat is opening the proceedings for Rajasthan. This is his first match of the second leg of the tournament.
Shubman Gill gets Rajasthan off to a good start. KKR 8 for no loss at the end of the first over.
Here are the scenarios of how either of these two teams can make it to the next round:
KKR would need to beat RR to go through to the playoffs. A KKR win would mean Mumbai would need to win their match tomorrow in an emphatic fashion, preferably within 10 overs or by a margin of around 90 runs, to gain a run-rate advantage over KKR.
As for RR, they would regret getting bundled out for 90 in their previous match. Not just do they have to win this match big a huge margin of 125 runs at least, but also hope that Mumbai lose their match tomorrow by 40 runs for a glimmer of hope to make it to the playoffs.
RR Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
KKR Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Kolkata's Eoin Morgan says that he would have opted to bowl first if he had won the toss.
A victory in Sharjah will effectively mean that Kolkata will go through to the next round.
For Kolkata, Lockie Ferguson is fit and back in the squad. Tim Southee is sitting out
Rajasthan have won the toss and chosen to bowl
