pumped over the bowler's head! Knight Riders make the final. Capitals are eliminated. Gets one on a good length and wide off off, and hammers a blow back for a powerful six to seal the deal. Cool, calm and collected. Cracked away to shatter Capitals' hopes.
KKR won by 3 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
And on that note, it's time for us to say goodbye. What a game, what a night. Hope to have your company come Friday for CSK v KKR. Until then, this is Himanshu Agrawal, Shashank Kishore and Venkat Raghav saying goodbye. Cheers everyone. Enjoy the festivities, do stay safe and vaccinate yourself as soon as you can.
Time for the post-match presentations even as Pant and Ponting continue to have a serious, serious discussion just outside the dressing room.
Eoin Morgan: "Should've been a lot easier after the start we got, Venky and Gill set us the platform. Dew came in and all, but hey, we're in the final and we're delighted to get over the line. Would've loved to win convincingly but Capitals are a very good side. Six off two, the odds were probably in favour of the bowling side, but Rahul Tripathi has done superbly well for us. It's a nice insight into our team culture - the young guys coming in feel free to express themselves. The backroom staff have created an environment for them to do this. With the squad we have, there's expectation. Hopefully we can implement all that we've strategised. Venky Iyer idea [his elevation] came from the coach, my god, he's a terrific player. Made the chase easy, looks like he was batting on a different wicket. We would like to keep going, playing against CSK, one of the best franchises in IPL history. Anything can happen."
Venkatesh Iyer is Player of the Match for his 55 off 41 balls. "Doing what has been asked of me, extremely happy to have won the game. There's no difference [domestic] to IPL, have come here and play the way I wanted to play. Happy that the management allowed me to the freedom to play the way I do. For the past couple of games, I was restricting myself, trying to bat till the end, but I realised that wasn't me. I wanted to revert to the way I've been playing. I'm not thinking about the Indian team, have one more game and want to stay fully focused on that."
10pm Phew! What a finish. And just like in 2012, the Chennai Super Kings will face off against KKR. A side that is known to make finals for fun against a side that has never lost a final. What a game we have coming up on Friday.
Tripathi after that match-winning six: "It feels great. The win was very important. One or tough overs, and it would so deep we never thought. The 18th over was a great over by Rabada. I had to just connect one, and luckily I connected today, so I am very happy. The communication with Lockie was that if there is a possible two, then we will run it. It was difficult once you go in. Straightaway to get those boundaries was difficult. The ball was keeping a little low. After the first phase, we were a little down. We were always looking for positive options."
Kiran Kadam : "Rishabh Pant was visibly emotional after last match. Today he'll be shattered!!" --- But he should be proud to have carried his team this far.
Pant after a hurting loss: "Can't change anything after the match. Always we kept on believing, and stayed in the game for as long as possible. The bowlers pulled it back. They bowled really well through the middle overs. We were stuck, and unable to rotate the strike. Hopefully we can come back net year for a stronger season. We played really good cricket throughout the season. We stuck together, and cared for each other. Hopefully we will improve next year and come back strongly."
Ponting lurking around the park to ensure his players are not in the worst of moods. Avesh and Nortje with a dull face in the dugout.
Chandan: "Match of the Tournament Without a doubt!!"
Swapnil : "So no new champion, huh"
Nimesh Roshen: "A SIX FOR THE HAT-TRICK BALL "
9.43pm What a game! Even Ponting can't help but offer half a smile. And we can breathe now. Capitals fought tooth and nail despite posting just 135, and had their opponents under the wood for a good while in the death overs.
Ashwin from over the wicket, but to Tripathi. Hat-trick ball.
Ferguson is the new man.
James : "Did someone say "twists" earlier?"
and taken at long-off! Damn! Ashwin gets two in two. He is on a hat-trick. But more than that, Capitals still remain afloat. He bowls with a wide-arm action, and goes full on off. Narine came down the track to try and clear the rope, but toe-ended the shot to lob that right where Axar sat
Ashwin from around the wicket, but Pant first adjusts the field.
6 to get off 3. Will Narine aim for the boundary?
Pant and Ashwin in a chat...
Narine now... Phew!
Moin: "Drama!"
walks across off trying to scoop, but the ball strikes his back pad! Ashwin is up in a celebr-appeal, and it is given! Oh my, where is this going? The ball was full on middle and off, and replays show the ball would have crashed into middle and off. Bang!
goes sweeping to this full ball outside leg after playing by making room, but the ball hits his back thigh
Shakib is the new batter. Ashwin around the stumps.
Capitals taking their time here. Shakib looks around the field too.
pulled away to long-on's right, as Ashwin bowls short and wide of off
Ashwin to Tripathi. Over the wicket.
7 required off 6.
NJ: "Only if Iyer did not misfield or Ashwin dit not drop catch"
chopped on! What is going on here? Another Knight Riders batter succumbs. This is a good length ball wide of off, which Morgan looks to hoick away, but gets a bottom edge on to his stumps, which are lit up after the ball lands there on the bounce. Nortje is all pumped up after that, as he leaves his side with a glimmer of hope in the final over
SARFAS SACHU: "If only there was few more runs to defend" --- Only if...
goes slashing at this full and wide ball away from his body, but misses. Pant appeals for a caught behind, but doesn't get any support from his team-mates
7 off 8...
dot ball! Pushed to cover, where it is Axar now. Morgan makes room and skips down, as Nortje bowls fullish on middle and leg
Nortje to come from over the wicket.
Morgan, the new batter, on strike. He has been short of runs of late.
pulls at this hard length ball on off to long-on for a single
strikes his back pad to arouse some excitement, but that is not leg before for sure. The ball was very full on leg, as the batter got his front leg out of the way and got an inside edge on to his pad
Manu: "What an over Rabada!!!"
misfield at cover, and that allows two! Iyer the fielder there. Back of a length ball on off, and Tripathi just punched that off the back foot. Ah, would have been a dot ball otherwise had Iyer not missed
Nortje over the wicket
Ummm, some late drama maybe?
10 required off 12.
the middle and off stumps are dislodged! Rabada bowls back of a length just outside off, and with seam up. Karthik looks to hoick that away to the on side, but gets an inside edge. There is life left in this game yet, as Capitals take it deep
Remains over the stumps to Karthik
finally gets one away. Slashes at this short ball just outside off, and plays to deep point
four dots in a row now. Dances down to this good length ball outside off, but finds the man at cover, who stops with a little movement to his right
another dot ball. This is a touch fuller and outside off, and again stays a little low as he can't bat on ball
good change of pace, and beats the batter! Tripathi looks to pull that back of a length ball on off, but misses, as the ball goes over the stumps
sharp movement into the batter! Pitches on a good length on middle and darts back in while keeping low. Tapped from deep in his crease
Rabada now over the wicket
Pari: "With Narine still in hut , it's just a matter of two balls."
short and wide of off, and with change of pace. Karthik thinks about jabbing at that, but lets it go as the ball dies to Pant
yorker length on middle, and clipped to midwicket with the closed face of the bat. Misfield there, but no run conceded
Karthik in now. Avesh stays over the wicket.
pocketed by Pant! Gill gets an outside edge to this full ball slightly wide of off, as he plays with a horizontal bat. The ball takes the top edge and takes off, as Pant leaps a little high and to his right, leaving the gloves open for the ball to arrive comfortably
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
Sharjah Cricket Stadium | |
Toss | Kolkata Knight Riders, elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2021 |
Player Of The Match | |
Series result | Kolkata Knight Riders advanced |
Hours of play (local time) | 18.00 start, First Session 18.00-19.30, Interval 19.30-19.50, Second Session 19.50-21.20 |
Match days | 13 October 2021 - night (20-over match) |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee |
Over 20 • KKR 136/7