KKR Moves To Qualifier 2 As RCB Crashes Out IPL 2021

Cricket Image for KKR Moves To Qualifier 2 As RCB Crashes Out IPL 2021 (Image Source: Google)

All-rounder Sunil Narine starred as Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets and move to qualifier 2 where they will meet Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. 

Chasing 139, Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer once again gave a solid start to KKR as they added 41 in 5.2 overs before the former got out after scoring 29 from 18. 

Iyer continued as Rahul Tripathi got out cheaply. He added 26 with Nitish Rana before getting out on 26 off 30. Narine was sent in at number five, and he smoked RCB bowlers out of the park to completely change the momentum towards KKR. 

Narine hit 26 off 15 with the help of three sixes to make the target easier to finish for the rest of the batters. Eoin Morgan and Shakib Al Hasan ran their way into qualifier 2 as RCB once again failed to reach the IPL Final.

Earlier, Bangalore opted to bat and got off to a terrific start. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal smashed 49 in 5.1 overs. Padikkal hit 21 before Lockie Ferguson cleaned him up. 

His wicket changed the RCB's approach as Kohli slowed down in the middle overs and couldn't make partnerships. Narine made things miserable for Bangalore as he removed Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, AB De Villiers, and KS Bharat in quick succession. 

RCB wasn't able to finish on a high and ended up on 138/7 in the first innings. 

Brief Scorecard: 

Royal Challengers Bangalore - 138/7 (Virat Kohli - 39; Sunil Narine - 4/21) 
Kolkata Knight Riders - 139/6 in 19.4 overs (Shubman Gill - 29, Sunil Narine - 26)