Sunil Narine’s all-round performance defeats RCB and propels KKR into the Qualifier 2 of the IPL
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 Eliminator in Sharjah on Monday. Sunil Narine set up the victory with a four-for-21 performance and then excelled with the bat, blasting three sixes in an over off Daniel Christian to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) over the finish line. After limiting RCB to 138/7, KKR chased down the 139-run target to go to Qualifier 2, where they will face Delhi Capitals for a spot in the final.
READ: Sunil Narine’s all-round show made the difference as @KKRiders beat #RCB in #VIVOIPL 2021 #Eliminator & sealed a place in the #Qualifier2. 👏 👏
Here's the Match Report 🔽 #RCBvKKR https://t.co/iQ1qrgjiaR
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 11, 2021
RCB’s middle-order was run through by Narine during his four-over session. KS Bharat, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Glenn Maxwell were all removed by the West Indies spinner, breaking the back of RCB’s fearsome batting line-up.
After Eoin Morgan lost the toss, Lockie Ferguson took two wickets for KKR, in addition to Narine.
KKR openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer gave the team a strong start, adding 41 runs in the opening five overs while chasing 139 for victory.
Harshal Patel, the Purple Cap holder, gave RCB the breakthrough by dismissing Gill for 29 runs.
Rahul Tripathi was next taken out for six by Yuzvendra Chahal before Harshal struck again to knock Iyer out.
Harshal equalled Dwayne Bravo’s record of 32 wickets in a single IPL season with his dismissal of Iyer.
With the asking rate rising following the loss of rapid wickets, KKR elected to dispatch Narine ahead of Dinesh Karthik, and the decision paid off as the southpaw ran Daniel Christian out for a duck to put some pressure back on RCB. Narine smacked three tremendous sixes to put the equation in KKR’s favour.
What a fantastic performance at Sharjah 🏟️
Sunil Narine the show stealer with bat and ball for #KKR 💜
Can he repeat his performances in the next game against Delhi Capitals?#VIVOIPL | #Eliminator | #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/YJCVjx0NoM
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 11, 2021
KKR ultimately chased down the mark with two balls to spare, securing a place in the second Qualifier despite a late fightback from Chahal and Mohammed Siraj, who sent back Dinesh Karthik and Sunil Narine in the same over.
On October 13, Qualifier 2 will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Ground.