In Pictures: IPL 2021 in UAE - Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Rajasthan Royals by 86 runs in Sharjah

Venkatesh Iyer of Kolkata Knight Riders plays a shot during the 54th match of Vivo Indian Premier League against Rajasthan Royals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in Sharjah, UAE.

Iyer gets bowled by Rahul Tewatia of Rajasthan after scoring 38 runs. In their most important game of this IPL season, Kolkata made a slow start to their innings, reaching 34-0 after the powerplay.

Chris Morris of Rajasthan celebrates the wicket of Shubman Gill of Kolkata. Gill showcased his repertoire of shots - hitting four boundaries and two sixes - and scored 56 runs from 44 balls. Kolkata scored 171-4 from 20 overs.

Rahul Tripathi of Kolkata takes a catch to dismiss Liam Livingstone of Rajasthan who simply fell apart while trying to chase on a good batting pitch.

Lockie Ferguson of Kolkata ended up taking 3 wickets for 18 runs. The wickets continued to tumble for Royals, who fell to 35-7 after nine overs.

Varun Chakaravarthy of Kolkata celebrates the wicket of Chris Morris of Rajasthan.

But it was only Rahul Tewatia who showed any resilience. Batting at number seven, he saved Royals' blushes with 44 off 36 balls - clearing the rope five times and scoring more than half his team's runs.

In the end, Kolkata all but confirmed their place in the Indian Premier League play-offs with a one-sided 86-run win over Rajasthan. Mumbai Indians can still mathematically leapfrog Kolkata into fourth place but will need to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by a record 171 runs tonight.