Highlights, IPL 2021, KKR vs RR Full Cricket Score: Kolkata clinch 86-run victory

**Shivam Mavi: “**I feel really good. The plan was not to give much room to batsmen on this wicket. I need to keep learning. I learnt how to use the slower ball, when to bowl the yorker, I have learnt a lot here at KKR. I liked Dube’s wicket.”

Morgan: “To get 170 put us in a commanding position. A really strong performance today. Shakib coming in and performing the way he has in the last two games has made replacing Andre Russell easier. Fingers crossed. I am not too attached to things as to what will happen and what won’t happen. We have done everything tonight. We deserved to win.”

Shivam Mavi is the player of the match

Sanju Samson: “It was a much better wicket we got last time. 171 was chaseable on this wicket with the batting line-up we have. We wanted to execute whatever we planned, but we didn’t do it today. I am very proud of the character we showed. We were losing some easy games. We wanted to do well mindset wise. We need to play a better standard of cricket. Being the captain, I changed the way I look at my innings. I look at the conditions and the batsmen around me. Always thinking about the match situation.”

Remarkable! 

Superb all round performance by #KKR and terrible one by #RR. Don’t know the mathematical possibility of #MI making it to the play-offs, but must be tending towards zero I would imagine. #KKR’s surge from a near hopeless position after phase 1 is a remarkable story

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 7, 2021

KKR are almost through to the playoffs! 

Mumbai need to win tomorrow by around 171 runs to get past KKR’s NRR. If they chase, they can’t go beyond KKR’s NRR.

Eoin Morgan and KKR will be very proud of their effort tonight. They lost the toss and were sent to bat on a tough wicket. The batters did extremely well to post 171/4 and then the bowlers impressed once again. Rajasthan struggled and bowled out for 85, out of which Tewatia made 44. KKR still don’t have a Q beside their name but they have a healthy net run rate and it looks very unlikely that Mumbai will jump over them.

Chopped on! Rahul Tewatia b Shivam Mavi 44(36).

 KKR win the match by a whopping 86 runs.

After 15 overs,Rajasthan Royals 83/8 ( Rahul Tewatia 43 , Chetan Sakariya 1)

Sunil Narune went for few runs in the first three over but he does well to finish his spell. Mustafizur is the last man in and he survives the last three deliveries. Just one run. Tewatia six short of his fifty.

Tewatia gets a top edge but it’s safe. Sakariya wanted a second run but he’s sent back. He doesn’t cross the line in time. Chetan Sakariya run out (Shakib/Karthik) 1(5)

Tewatia cuts uppishly, it’s in the gap but looks like Gill has stopped the ball from hitting the rope. Replays show his shoes touching the line as he picks up the ball so this is a boundary.

After 14 overs,Rajasthan Royals 75/8 ( Rahul Tewatia 35 , Chetan Sakariya 1)

Tewatia goes for the reverse, but hits it straight to the deep fielder. He doesn’t take the run. Varun Chakaravarthy keeps it tight against Tewatia and doesn’t give him opportunities to play big hits. A single and a dot to end the over.

After 13 overs,Rajasthan Royals 74/8 ( Rahul Tewatia 34 , Chetan Sakariya 1)

Sakariya is off the mark with a single towards fine-leg. Tewatia does well to find a boundary and then takes a single in the fourth ball. Narine has two balls against Sakariya but the batsman plays it out. Eight off the over.

Shot! On one knee and Tewatia clears the deep midwicket.

After 12 overs,Rajasthan Royals 66/8 ( Rahul Tewatia 27 , Chetan Sakariya 0)

At least Tewatia is hitting the boundaries despite the fall of wickets on the other end. He doesn’t take singles when there are chances in the over. After the boundary, he wanted to take a run but gets beaten. So Sakariya will be on strike in the next over.

Tewatia picks up the back of a length slower ball and whips it through cover.

Unadkat tries another big shot, but this time he doesn’t time it. Makes room and tries to hit it over cover but the ball goes into the hands of deep point fielder. Unadkat c Shakib b Ferguson 6(5)

Back of a length and outside off stump, Unadkat lifts it over cover for a boundary.

After 11 overs,Rajasthan Royals 58/7 ( Rahul Tewatia 23 , Jaydev Unadkat 2)

Good start to the over as Tewatia connects his hit and sends the ball out of the stadium but Varun comes back well. Just two singles after the six. Jaydev Unadkat needs to stick around for sometime.

This one is out of the ground. Slog sweep against Varun and Tewatia easily clears the stand behind deep square-leg.

After 10 overs,Rajasthan Royals 49/7 ( Rahul Tewatia 16 , Jaydev Unadkat 0)

Mavi concedes 14 runs in his third over but KKR and Eoin Morgan will not be bothered much. This game looks like going in their way. We’ll have to see how long Tewatia remains in the middle.

Down the leg, Tewatia flicks it to fine-leg, Narine should’ve cut it off but it’s a poor effort.

Another one. This time Tewatia cuts through point and it’s in the gap.

Tewatia punches through deep cover for a boundary.

After 9 overs,Rajasthan Royals 35/7 ( Rahul Tewatia 2 , )

Varun is back into the attack. Three dots and single to give the strike to Morris. The South African tries a sweep but he misses, this is hitting outside off-stump so LBW appeal turned down. But it doesn’t matter because Morris gets dismissed in the next ball. It’s a carrom ball, and it’s the right decision my Micheal Gough. Three reds.

Oh what is happening? Morris also falls without scoring. Fuller by Chakaravarthy, Morris misses his sweep and the umpire raises his finger after an appeal for LBW. Chris Morris lbw b Chakaravarthy 0(2)

After 8 overs,Rajasthan Royals 34/6 ( Rahul Tewatia 1 , )

Rahul Tewatia and Chris Morris are the new batsmen. Tewatia became the talk of the town after an exceptional innings at the same ground last year but conditions are very different today. To win it from this position , on this track would be a miracle. 138 runs needed in 72 balls.

BOWLED! 

This one keeps slightly low. The ball hits Dube’s pads and crashes onto the stumps. Shivam Dube b Shivam Mavi 18(20)

What a ball by Mavi! It’s quick and bowled on good length, Phillips stays in his crease and misses the ball. Stumps are disturbed. Glenn Phillips b Shivam Mavi 8(12)

After 7 overs,Rajasthan Royals 30/4 ( Shivam Dube 17 , Glenn Phillips 6)

Finally some big shots to get the chase going. Narine got his lengths wrong and both Philipps and Dube hit maximums. 13 off the over but the required run rate is still 10.92. RR were 17/4 at the end of sixth over, which is the second lowest powerplay score in IPL history.

Another one, this time by Phillips. Fuller delivery by Narine and Phillips hits it over the bowler’s head.

Well done! Dube takes on Narine and clears the long-on boundary.

After 6 overs,Rajasthan Royals 17/4 ( Shivam Dube 10 , Glenn Phillips 0)

Ferguson continues. Dot and a single brings Phillips on strike. He times his push really well but it is straight to the point fielder. Ferguson then ramps up the speed, a 148 kph ball to beat Phillips. Karthik collects the ball at his chest level so that one was really quick. Just one from the over.

After 5 overs,Rajasthan Royals 16/4 ( Shivam Dube 9 , Glenn Phillips 0)

Varun Chakaravarthy into the attack now. Three dots and then Dube gets an outside edge on his cut. The short third man fielder dives and gets his hand to the ball but the batsmen run two. A single and another dot to end the over. The run-rate is 3.2, required number is 10.4.

After 4 overs, Rajasthan Royals 13/4

Glenn Philips is the new batsman after Rawat’s dismissal. Ferguson’s delivery to remove Rawat is a superb one. He comes round the wicket, pitches on good length and angles the ball in to trap Rawat. Quality ball from a quality pacer. What an over. One run and two wickets.

LBW! There’s no doubt about this one. But Anuj Rawat takes the review after speaking to Shivam Dube. All three reds! Umpire is right and Rawat walks back to the dugout. Anuj Rawat lbw b Ferguson 0(1)

Ferguson strikes in his first ball of the night. Short, Livingstone goes for the pull but gets a top edge and Tripathi takes a good catch. Livingstone c Tripathi b Ferguson 6(6)

After 3 overs,Rajasthan Royals 12/2 ( Liam Livingstone 6 , Shivam Dube 5)

No Shakib. Sunil Narine comes into the attack. After the boundary, Livingstone plays a similar shot but this time the ball is cut off by the point fielder and he quickly releases it. Could’ve been close if there’s a direct on the non-striker’s end because Livingstone is nowhere near the crease. Actually, Dube was not supposed to go in after the second wicket but he walked in before Anuj Rawat and then came back in. Anuj walked out but umpire sent him back.

Short and bit of width by Narine, Livingstone cuts and finds the gap on the off-side.

After 2 overs,Rajasthan Royals 4/2 ( Liam Livingstone 0 , Shivam Dube 3)

Shivam Dube joins Liam Livingstone. He’s off the mark with a crunching drive to cover and collects two runs. Rajasthan’s sloppy start is also not a good news to Mumbai Indians. Livingstone comes down the track and tries to lift the ball over mid-wicket but doesn’t get the connection. Just three from the over plus a wicket.

Wow! Samson flicks it straight to mid-wicket fielder. The skipper departs, Mavi gets the wicket. Samson c Morgan b Shivam Mavi 1(4)

After 1 overs,Rajasthan Royals 1/1 ( Liam Livingstone 0 , Sanju Samson (C) (W) 1)

Jaiswal tries to slog the first ball out of the stadium but he misses it and the ball also misses the stumps. Not so lucky later as he fails to execute the reverse-sweep. This time the ball meets the stumps and Jaiswal walks back without opening his account. Sanju Samson is the new man in and he’s off the mark with a single.

What a bad, bad shot. Jaiswal goes for the reverse sweep in the third ball of the first over, misses the ball completely. Shakib strikes. Jaiswal b Shakib 0(3)

Right then, time for the chase. Shakib Al Hasan will begin proceedings with the ball. Liam Livingstone and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the middle.

KKR would be delighted with the total of 171/4. They only made 36 in the powerplay, so to get all these runs on a sluggish track despite the fielding restrictions is why KKR have been so close to playoffs. RR lost their bowling discipline somewhere in the middle and now have a mountain to climb. We will be back soon for the chase…

After 20 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 171/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 14 , Eoin Morgan (C) 13)

Highly productive over for KKR to end the innings. 16 from Morris’ over. There was a wide ball, leg bye, four byes as Samson failed to collect a ball and a massive six by Morris over deep square leg. RR have a big target here on this sluggish track.

In the slot by Morris and Morgan slog sweeps it over deep square leg fence.

After 19 overs, KKR 155/4

Penultimate over done, Unadkat gives away three singles and a four. Morgan got the boundary as he sliced the fuller ball past short third man.

Morgan throws his bat on the full outside off ball by Unadkat to guide it past the short third man fielder.

After 18 overs, KKR 148/4

Sakariya back into attack and strikes on the first ball. Tripath gets bowled trying to pull as the ball stays low. Two singles and a leg bye added. There was a review against Morgan for LBW after he missed a flick shot but the impact was outside off.

REVIEW AND NOT OUT! 

RR take a review for an LBW appeal after Morgan misses a flick off Sakariya. But replays show the impact was outside off.

OUT! Rahul Tripathi b Sakariya 21 (14)

Sakariya jumps and punches the air after dismissing Tripathi. The KKR batter got bowled trying to play a pull shot. The ball stayed low to beat the bat.

After 17 overs, KKR 145/3

Fizz into the attack now. Good running on the first ball as KKR steal two runs after a clip to square leg by Karthik. Two more singles before DK blasts one over wide of long-on for a maximum. DK survives a run-out scare on the last ball. 10 from the over.

Short ball from Fizz. DK rocks back and sends this outside the ground with a six over long-on.

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 135/3 ( Rahul Tripathi 20 , Dinesh Karthik (W) 1)

Morris bowls. Gill is a goner. He got a boundary in the over after getting to his fifty. It was with a brutal flick shot. He wanted to repeat it but this time the leading edge was taken at the cover. Dinesh Karthik is the new man in. DK loves batting in death overs. Time for him to shine again.

Gill departs! 

Shubman Gill c Jaiswal b Morris 56 (44)

Gill was looking to play the flick shot but the leading edge ballooned to the cover and Jaiswal took the catch safely.

Fuller ball and Gill whacks this to mid-wicket with a brutal flick shot.

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 127/2 ( Shubman Gill 52 , Rahul Tripathi 18)

Sakariya bowls. Four singles from the first four balls and then a boundary for Gill. The boundary helps Gill bring up his fifty in 40 balls. Slow going but a fighting innings. Dot ball to end the over. Eight off the over.

Gill gets to the milestone with an inside-edge four but it has been a fighting innings. KKR fans would be delighted.

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 119/2 ( Shubman Gill 46 , Rahul Tripathi 16)

Two welcome boundaries in the over for KKR! Tripathi is playing a good hand here. The slower ball from Dube was smoked down the ground for a four while the fuller outside off ball was cut for another boundary. 13 from the over. Time out!

What a cut shot from Tripathi! This went to the fence in a jiffy. Poor ball from Dube. Full and outside off ball.

Dube’s off-cutter is picked early by Tripathi and has been sent down the ground.

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 106/2 ( Shubman Gill 44 , Rahul Tripathi 5)

Mustafizur bowls. Fuller leg-side ball is clipped behind square for three runs by Gill. Tripathi gives the strike back with a single and Gill smashes the short ball to square leg boundary. One more single to Gill and Smason drops Tripathi on the last ball who nicked playing a cut shot. Nine from the over.

Short ball from Fizz. This didn’t bounce enough but Gill was in control of his pull shot to square leg.

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 97/2 ( Shubman Gill 36 , Rahul Tripathi 4)

Off-spinner Glen Phillips into the attack. Rana starts the over with a boundary as he drives the fuller ball past the point. Adds a six with a shot down the ground but gets out with another lofted effort. Gets caught at wide of long-off. Rahul Tripathi is the new man in and gets a four with a flick shot to mid-wicket. 17 from the over.

Fuller delivery from leg-stump is flicked to mid-wicket by Tripathi off Phillips.

OUT! Nitish Rana c Livingstone b Phillips 12 (5)

Rana perishes after baking a blazing start. Paid the price for one shot too many may be. Got two boundaries in the over and then went for another inside-out lofted cover drive but got caught in the deep.

Fuller delivery from Phillips. Rana clears his front leg and blasts this over long-on.

Outside off delivery from Glenn Phillips is driven hard by Rana past the gap behind point.

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 80/1 ( Shubman Gill 35 , Nitish Rana 1)

Finally a wicket for RR! They pursued with the pacers for so long and a spinner gets them the first breakthrough. Iyer got out after missing a straighter one which cleaned up the stumps. The batter was trying to play a switch hit but failed to connect. The first ball of the over was hit for a six by Gill. 11 from the over.

BOWLED! 

Venkatesh Iyer b Tewatia 38 (35)

Iyer was aiming for a switch hit, missed the straight ball which went through the gap between the legs and broke the stumps.

SIX! One-handed maximum by Gill. He comes down against Tewatia and sents it over long-on.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 69/0 ( Shubman Gill 27 , Venkatesh Iyer 37)

Iyer breaks the shackles with a six. The first ball from Unadkat is sent sailing over the mid-wicket fence. Another maximum in the over as Iyer blasts a length ball down the ground. Unadkat injured his right leg on the fifth ball in his follow through and got some medical attention before ending the over with a dot. 14 from the over.

Excellent shot! The length ball is driven on the up and down the ground. Terrific batting.

Slower delivery, in the slot by Unadkat and Iyer smashes this over the cow corner.

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 55/0 ( Shubman Gill 26 , Venkatesh Iyer 24)

It has been slow going at Sharjah! KKR openers are dealing in singles. Even they have stopped taking risks. There was a full toss in the over but it was cut by Iyer for just a single. Five singles from Shivam Dube’s over.

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 50/0 ( Shubman Gill 24 , Venkatesh Iyer 21)

Mustafizur into the attack now. Four singles at the start of the over. Wide ball as Fizz fires it outside off. Next ball is dot and then an LBW appeal on the last ball as the ball came back in against Iyer but height was a factor. Six from the over. 50 up for KKR.

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 44/0 ( Shubman Gill 22 , Venkatesh Iyer 19)

Unadkat with the ball now. Two singles off the first two balls. Gills adds a double with a cut on cover. Another single and Iyer gets the strike who gets a boundary as he guides a slower ball past short third man. Single on the last ball. 10 from the over. Time out!

Smart batting! Iyer cuts the slower ball ever so softly off Unadkat for a welcome boundary.

After 6 overs, 36/0

Morris bowls. Three singles from the over as boundary hitting remains a luxury on this pitch. Powerplay up and the scoring rate could only get slower.

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 31/0 ( Shubman Gill 16 , Venkatesh Iyer 12)

A bit more productive over for KKR. 11 from Sakariya’s over. Six on the first ball for Gill as he steps out and punishes the length ball with a maximum down the ground. Adds a single and Iyer finishes the over with a cover drive four.

Fuller outside off ball is driven through cover by Iyer off Sakariya.

First maximum of the match! Gill steps out and smashes the length ball from Sakariya down the ground.

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 20/0 ( Shubman Gill 9 , Venkatesh Iyer 8)

Unadkat bowls. Iyer steps out for a pull but inside edges the shot onto the pads. Next two balls: two straight drives straight to mid-wicket. Wide ball followed by a single. Gill gets off the strike with a drive to wide of mid-off. Dot ball to end the over. Three from the over.

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 17/0 ( Shubman Gill 8 , Venkatesh Iyer 7)

Chetan Sakariya starts off with three dot balls that also had Gill playing a crunchy drive that was fielded at mid-off. Gill gets off the strike on the fourth ball. Another single for Iyer at fine leg. Two from the over. The wicket is quite slow and not suitable for stroke-making.

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 15/0 ( Shubman Gill 7 , Venkatesh Iyer 6)

Chris Morris into the attack. Iyer clips the first ball to mid-wicket for a single. Slice shot on the next ball is fielder at cover. Dot ball as Iyer misses a slice shot. Single on the cover. Dot ball to Gill who then gets a single on legside wide. Iyer finishes the over with a boundary. Seven from the over.

Iyer steps out and lofts the drive over mid-on to end Morris’ over with a boundary.

After 1 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 8/0 ( Shubman Gill 7 , Venkatesh Iyer 1)

Unadkat starts with a beauty! The ball holds its line and Gill is beaten on the outside edge. Second ball Gill steps out for a push to mid-wicket for two runs. Second ball he skips down again for another push, past mid-off for a four. Dot ball and then a single on cover. Iyer gets off the mark with a single on the last ball. Eight from the over.

FOUR! Soft push down the ground by Gill past the mid-off off Unadkat.

The openers are out in the middle. Gill is on strike. Venkatesh Iyer is at the other end. Unadkat is the bowler.

We are moments away from live action! The qualification scenarios have become a mathematical circus but the most straightforward one is KKR winning tonight and qualifying for playoffs, unless MI secure such a big win tomorrow that they achieve a better net run rate than KKR. Uff…it’s so confusing.

RR XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

KKR XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy

Sanju Samson: “The way the wicket behaves at Sharjah is completely different to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Easy to bowl first here.”

One change for KKR: Lockie Ferguson is fit and replaces Tim Southee.

Toss: Rajasthan opt to bowl first as “it’s easy to bowl first” at Sharjah.

Pitch report: “At Sharjah it has been very hard to defend. Apart from Kohli who opted to bat, the rest of the captains have decided to chase. Expect more of the same. It has been very difficult to score outside of the powerplay,” says Matthew Hayden.

Qualification scenarios:

KKR are in control of their fate. A victory would make playoffs almost a guarantee for them. A win for KKR by any margin would mean that MI tomorrow need to win by a minimum of 85 runs or need to chase down their target inside 10 overs to have a better net run rate than KKR.

RR still have a slim chance. For them to qualify, a 125 runs win is required today and MI will have to lose by 40 runs tomorrow.

Head to Head

KKR have a marginal 12-11 lead in this department over RR, but Sanju Samson’s side won the last match between these two sides. They will be hoping for the same tonight.

Eoin Morgan admits lack of batting form but says he is confident to get back among runs quickly

While KKR have been impressive in the second-half of the tournament, captain Eoin Morgan was unimpressive with the bat. 

“Yeah, I am short of runs in this phase of the tournament, the whole tournament in general. I am very lucky to be in a position where I have been through stages like this in my career.” 

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KL Rahul off to a superb start

Punjab Kings are desperate for a big win and they are dominating the match against Chennai Super Kings.

The chase is on and you can catch the action here on our live blog

Preview

With 12 points from 13 matches, KKR are currently sitting at the fourth position in the pecking order, just ahead of defending champions Mumbai Indians on net run-rate. MI too have 12 points from 13 games and still have a match to play against bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday.

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Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Match 54 of IPL 2021 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. Stay tuned as we will bring you all the updates from the game.