KKR showcased a phenomenal game on the field in the previous match and defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by three wickets in Match 41 of the 14th edition of IPL 2021 with ten balls to spare at Sharjah cricket ground on Tuesday.

This win has increased their chances of making it to the IPL Play-offs stage, and we don’t see any soft sports currently that might stop KKR from doing so.

Kolkata Knight Riders are on top of their game and are bringing up the heat in the stadium by winning three out of four of their matches this leg. Eoin Morgan’s men are well-oiled and are genuinely in the spot for playoffs and now will just try to bring in some more points to boost their already solid net run rate. 

As for the Delhi Capitals, they might not be bothered by this minor defeat as they are already sitting comfortably at the second spot.

Rishabh Pant played a good score of 39 runs for the Delhi Capitals and Steve Smith, who replaced Prithvi Shaw as he was injured, also contributed 39 runs.

Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, and Venkatesh Iyer bagged two wickets for KKR that gave the team a good lead.

Nitish Rana contributed to a good chase with short yet decent innings of 36 runs after Shubhman Gill departed for 30. Sunil Narine also made a quick 21 off ten balls for the team.

Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bowl first. KKR also made a couple of changes in their team and got in Tim Southee and fast bowler Sandeep Warrier.

This win has boosted the confidence of KKR, but as the race for playoffs intensifies with each passing game, it becomes vital for KKR to win all its remaining four matches to secure its place in the playoffs. If they can’t win all the matches, they will have to rely on other teams’ performances, who will drop down in the points table later in the game. 

While KKR is still struggling, Delhi has almost secured its position to qualify for the playoffs.

The key players from Delhi Capitals, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant, and Shikhar Dhawan scored a decent 39 (34), 39 (36), and 24 (20), respectively.

However, these runs were chased easily by the players of Kolkata Knight Riders – Nitish Rana, Shubhman Gill, and Sunil Narine, who scored 36 (27), 30 (33), and 21 (10), respectively.

Sunil Narine bagged the award of Player of the Match with his phenomenal performance. 

Kolkata Knight Riders are trying to build up their game to make it to the playoffs, while Delhi is already sitting at the second spot where they are close to making it to the playoffs. It is still a long way to go for the Knight Riders, but if they continue performing the same, it won’t be long before they make it to the list of top four teams.

Player’s Talk

Sunil Narine (Player of the Match)

“Watching a few games here, there is a little bit of spin. So my plan was to not get too full while using slight variations to keep it on top of the batters as much as I could. I have to thank Carl Crowe – he has been doing a fantastic job with me as my bowling coach. All credit to him and KKR for always putting in the efforts to have him around. That was the key to my comeback and I’m feeling much more confident. Hopefully, I can continue in the games to come. It’s a bit challenging in the middle-order but in any situation, I am given, I just like to make the best use of it. It’s pleasing to see my hard work paying off after a long time. I think we are playing some good cricket. We have a few niggles so we have some thinking to do but we have good guys who can come in. The team is in really good spirits.”

Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders Captain)

“Delighted! It’s been a tough 48 hours playing two-day games in a space of three days. Few injuries today but delighted to come off with the two points. Choosing to field first wasn’t the easiest decision to take but if it’s the right decision you back it. A good day for us. (Thoughts on conceding no six?) The advantage was knowing when to push the button and when not to. Sunil Narine played a big part in that. The guys at the top tended to target things with the new ball but our guys were more calculated and it paid off. If you are playing on a wicket like that if you are out quite cagey it can come back and hurt you. Very well fought game by both sides. (On the heated exchange in the middle) Both sides play the game really hard. It was played in the right spirit and it is tough playing the Delhi Capitals. Full credit to our Head Coach Brendon McCullum. The guys have brought his method into the field and it’s awesome to see.”

Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals Captain)

“I think we were 10 runs short, not much because we knew the wicket would slow down in the 2nd innings. But at the end of the day, each team tries to win the match and we want to give our 100 percent on a given day. If it goes our way it’s fine, if not we learn and move on. It was pretty difficult for the new batter since the wicket got slower and slower. We wanted to dig in as long as possible and capitalize in the end but we lost a few wickets and fell 10 runs short. Really happy with our bowling but we have to learn from our mistakes. I don’t think there are too many changes to make as a bowling unit. Just a few little things and we move on to the next one.”

The excitement of the match will continue on 29th September where Rajasthan Royals will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Check out the RR vs RCB head-to-head IPL record and if you can guess the outcome of the match, then it is time to place bets depending on your calculations at Uwin or Cricsbet.

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