IPL 2021, KKR vs RR: Kolkata Knight Riders Beat Rajasthan Royals By 86 Runs, Take Giant Step Towards Playoffs
NDTV
Kolkata Knight Riders produced a clinical performance to beat Rajasthan Royals by a massive 86-run margin and take a huge step towards securing their playoff berth in the Indian Premier League in Sharjah on Thursday.
Kolkata Knight Riders produced a clinical performance to beat Rajasthan Royals by a massive 86-run margin and take a huge step towards securing their playoff berth in the Indian Premier League in Sharjah on Thursday. With three play-off spots -- Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings and Royals Challengers Bangalore -- already sealed, KKR consolidated their position for the fourth and final play-off spot, finishing their round-robin engagements with 14 points from 14 games with an impressive net run rate of 0.587. With 12 points from 13 matches, defending champions Mumbai Indians is the only team still in the play-off race but they will need to register a big win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game on Friday to dislodge KKR from the fourth spot.
Effectively, Mumbai need a miracle to make the play-offs ahead of KKR.
Shubman Gill hit a second consecutive fifty as KKR registered the highest score at the venue this season, posting a competitive 171 for four after being put into bat.
Gilll (56 off 44) and Venkatesh Iyer (38 off 35) got KKR's innings to a rollicking start, stitching 79 runs for the opening stand.
Rahul Tripathi (21), Dinesh Karthik (14 not out off 11) and skipper Eoin Morgan (13 not out off 11) also played good hands towards the end to take KKR to past the 170-run mark.