Is it Virat Kohli's final bow as Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper in Sharjah or does he have another story to tell? We went through the action with Hussain Yousuf and Abhijit Roy, who followed the match alongside our Gulf News experts as RCB took on Kolkata Knight Riders in a win-or-go-home clash.
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MATCH SUMMARY
Sunil Narine’s star turn helps Kolkata enter Qualifier 2
Shyam A. Krishna, Senior Associate Editor
Sunil Narine was Kolkata Knight Riders’ man of the hour. A four-wicket burst followed by a 15-ball 26 helped inflict a four-wicket defeat on Royal Challengers Bangalore with two balls to spare in the IPL 2021 Eliminator at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Kolkata will meet the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. Bangalore go home after another unsuccessful campaign, the last under Virat Kohli’s captaincy.
Chasing 139 for a win, Kolkata stumbled after a robust 41-run start from Shubman Gill (29 in 18 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (26). Narine eased the nerves taking 22 off a Dan Christian over with three sixes. A double strike from Mohammad Sirah added to the drama before Kolkata sneaked home.
Earlier, Bangalore got off to a brisk start with Kohli (39 from 33) and Devdutt Padikkal (21 off 18) picking up 49 runs in five overs, but things went sour after that. That’s when Narine (4-21) got to work, and Bangalore finished with 138/7 in 20 overs. That wasn’t enough.
https://twitter.com/Hussain88631891/status/1447593766446116868
Innings-breaks summary
Four-wicket Sunil Narine stifles Bangalore scoring
Shyam A. Krishna, Senior Associate Editor
Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders is a mystery even after playing the Indian Premier League for so many years. He’s still a difficult customer as the Royal Challengers found out on Monday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. A brisk start from Virat Kohli (39 from 33 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (21 off 18) yielded 49 runs in five overs, but things went sour after that. That’s when Narine got to work in the IPL Eliminator, and Bangalore finished with 138/7 in 20 overs.
Narine’s figures read 4-0-21-4, and the scalps included Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell. After that, the KKR bowlers throttled the batsmen and runs dried up for Bangalore.
A below-par total will require some serious effort from Bangalore bowlers to make a match of it. Or else, it will be curtains for RCB.
https://twitter.com/Hussain88631891/status/1447589038026809344
This is an interesting one!
MATCH PREVIEW
No quarters will be asked or given when the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator of IPL 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday (October 11, 2021).
Chasing their first title, Bangalore will be keen to give Virat Kohli a fitting farewell as captain. They have reason to be optimistic. This is perhaps their best season, and they believe they can win. And recent results are encouraging.
Having won the IPL title twice, Kolkata wants to add to the tally. They missed the playoffs in the last two years but have turned around a wobbling campaign with some sterling wins. And Eoin Morgan’s team have started to dream of a triumph again.
The teams are evenly matched, and no team can afford to lose. For, a loss means elimination. Let’s watch how the game unfolds.
