IPL 2021, KKR vs SRH Highlights: Kolkata Knight Riders edge closer to playoff qualification with 6-wicket win

Shubman Gill is the Man of the match: “It was important to keep the wickets in hand, and when the balls and runs were closer then just take it easy.”

“It was important to assess the wicket. It wasn’t easy to hit the spinners on this wicket. I was targetting the shorter side, and the leg-side was shorter than the off-side at one end. When I didn’t have much runs under the belt, you don’t want the opposition to gain the upper hand.”

“When you play on slower wickets, it’s more important to play with the wrists and that comes naturally to me.”

“I took on the medium-pacer today and it came off in this game, but in another game it might not.”

Eoin Morgan: It was a bit of a scrap, I think the wicket probably played a bit slower than we thought. Two nights ago, the ball seemed to be swinging a little, but today was a bit sluggish. Of course, the wicket is one thing, but you also need to adapt to it, bowl well and field well. That’s something I thought we did. It’s a vast improvement on our previous game.

The return of Shakib was a massive boost for us. The strength in depth that we have, where we can call upon such a vastly experienced player like Shakib al Hasan is a huge luxury.

We’re firmly focussed on trying to play good cricket, we’re not too worried about what the table is looking like right now. We played really well the last few weeks. The attitude and the implementation of your game plan has been great, and it’s had a positive impact on our dressing room.

KKR’s Dinesh Karthik: “I thought it was a real good game of cricket. At half time I knew it would be a tricky chase because the pitch was difficult.”

“It was just one of those days where I got lucky. This is not a game where you take the game deep. You create opportunities by using the crease and you play your shots.”

“I think you need to be flexible. I would give a lot of credit to Rana, he was playing second fiddle to Shubhman. He realised that there was no point matching him shot for shot. He took his time and then hit a couple of big hits.”

“Fingers crossed for the next game.”

Kane Williamson: I think if we got closer to the 150 mark, it would have been par. There were plenty of opportunities to try and strangle the game with the ball in hand as well. It was a low-scoring game. We’ve been working hard throughout the season, and it’s not quite working out. 

We were probably a little late to get going. In the last four overs or so, we tried to have a crack at it and get to 150, but in hindsight, we should have built more partnerships and tried to get off to a better start. The surfaces have been different every time, and we need to adapt.

We’ve been facing Umran Malik in the nets, and he’s got a lot of pace. Amazing chance for him to get a run with the ball tonight, special occasion for him and what a talent.

There’ll be a few conversations had about players getting opportunities. We’re out of the contention this season, so we’ll want to give some exciting talent a few chances.

KKR win by 6 wickets

Short and cracked away for a four by Dinesh Karthik. He gets the job done in glorious fashion. Kolkata Knight Riders add two points to their tally and keep their quest to make the playoffs alive. SRH were already out of running.

After 19 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 113/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 13 , Eoin Morgan (C) 1)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar concedes 7 runs and closes his spell out at 0/20. DK collects a four in the penultimate over to alleviate some of the nervous tension in the KKR camp. 3 needed from 6 balls in the last over

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 106/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 7 , Eoin Morgan (C) 0)

Jason Holder into his fourth and final over. He goes for four but may have kept the game alive still by getting rid of Nitish Rana. The left-hander looks to pull but doesn’t read the slower one and is taken by Rana. 7 from it

OUT!

One pull too many from Nitish Rana. Head in the hands moment. Slower one from Holder, Rana pulls but only slices it which goes up and is taken by Saha.

Rana c Saha b Holder 25 (33), KKR are 106/4

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 99/3 ( Nitish Rana 20 , Dinesh Karthik (W) 5)

Sid Kaul in for his third over. On third ball he breaks the partnership. The well-set Gill doesn’t time it properly and picks out Holder at long-on. He goes for 57 and DK is the new man in. He gets going with a thumping drive down the ground, 7 from the over

OUT!

Sid Kaul celebrates and he’s got the breakthrough! Overpitched on leg stump, Gill flicks it and doesn’t have the power or timing on it to go all the way. Holder takes it and long-on.

Gill c Holder b Kaul 57 (51), KKR are 99/3

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 92/2 ( Shubman Gill 57 , Nitish Rana 18)

Rashid Khan in for his final over then. And he finishes with 8 runs from it and figures of 1/23. Rana with a four from the fifth ball to look good now. Helps the KKR required rate too. Bang on 6.00 now.

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 84/2 ( Shubman Gill 54 , Nitish Rana 13)

Umran Malik in to bowl his final over and he goes for 6 runs, 0/27 from the four. Shubman Gill controls his pull and plays it along the ground for four more and has his eighth IPL fifty. Equation: KKR need 32 from 30 balls

Fifty for Gill

Thumped away by Gill towards deep mid-wicket (where else?) for a four and it brings up Gill’s fifty. He moves along to 53 from 44 balls for his eighth IPL fifty

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 78/2 ( Shubman Gill 49 , Nitish Rana 12)

Six runs from the Rashid Khan over. Nitish Rana finally gets a move on in the form of a confident reverse sweep. Retains the strike for the next over

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 72/2 ( Shubman Gill 48 , Nitish Rana 7)

Umran Malik into the attack. First ball, four. Second ball, four. Clearly the waiting time is over. Gill is upping the ante and changing gears to get this chase over and done with. Plays one off his pads and then gets the luck to find the vacant region from a mistimed pull. Nitish Rana looks to replicate it but misses. He’s 7 from 20 balls with 9 coming from the over

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 63/2 ( Shubman Gill 39 , Nitish Rana 7)

Jason Holder in for his third over. Second ball, Gill with four more to his tally. Played in the same region as the shot to Rashid earlier. On the fifth ball, Gill gets four more, another pull, same region, this one is kept down and has enough on it to race away to the boundary rope. 12 runs from the over

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 51/2 ( Shubman Gill 29 , Nitish Rana 5)

Rashid Khan back into the attack. First ball, Nitish Rana looks to reverse sweep it but misses the slider. Lucky for Rana that it didn’t clip the stumps. A double and single on second anf fourth balls respectively. Gill finishes the over out with a four and finally the boundary arrives. 7 runs from the over

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 44/2 ( Shubman Gill 25 , Nitish Rana 2)

Siddharth Kaul continues. Second ball, Gill lets the ball go expecting a wide but it isn’t coming. Umpire gestures for one bouncer instead. Next ball, a single for Gill in front of point. Fifth ball is steered towards third man by Rana for a single. A dot to finish. Just the 2 once again. At the halfway stage, KKR are 44/2 and need 72 from 60 balls

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 42/2 ( Shubman Gill 24 , Nitish Rana 1)

Umran Malik back into the attack. Once again, Malik with plenty of heat on his deliveries. 147kmph outside off and Rana is beaten. Next ball, same result at 145 kmph. Fifth ball, Rana tries to ramp it over the keeper but is beaten once again. A yorker to end with. Just the 2 from the over – both wides

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 40/2 ( Shubman Gill 24 , Nitish Rana 1)

Siddharth Kaul into the attack for SRH. Single each for both Gill and Rana from the over. Another over worth just the 2 runs and KKR not looking to rush it, it seems. Strategic time-out is the call and KKR are 40/2 from 8 overs

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 38/2 ( Shubman Gill 23 , Nitish Rana 0)

Rashid Khan into the attack now. First ball, Tripathi sweeps it down towards fine leg. He appeals for leg before but it had bat on it. And that would be the final contribution from Tripathi in KKR’s chase. On the third ball, he is cramped for room but pulls only to find Abhishek Sharma at short mid-wicket. Nitish Rana is the new man in. Just the 2 runs from the over and a wicket for SRH

OUT!

Rahul Tripathi had exposed his stumps plenty a ball prior and this time he pays for bad execution. Tripathi pulls and the aerial shot finds Abhishek Sharma at mid-wicket.

Tripathi c Sharma b Khan 7 (6), KKR are 38/2

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 36/1 ( Shubman Gill 23 , Rahul Tripathi 5)

After economical stuff from the two overs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar goes for 9 runs from his third. Rahul Tripathi and Shubman Gill both collecting boundaries each with some confident shot-making. KKR are 36/1 from the powerplay overs

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 27/1 ( Shubman Gill 19 , Rahul Tripathi 0)

Jason Holder once again. Second ball and Iyer almost finds the fielder. A desperate (even courageous) attempt by Samad but it doesn’t carry. The hook gets the top edge and is almost curtains for the KKR opener. On the fourth ball of the over, he finally gets one. Iyer’s patience runs out and he finds Williamson inside the circle. The over draws to a close with lucky boundary for Gill

OUT!

Kane Williamson with a massive smile as he somehow keeps his eye on the ball with the lights in his eyes. Iyer gets the top edge and Williamson tumbles but completes the catch

Iyer c Williamson b Holder 8 (14), KKR 23/1

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 21/0 ( Shubman Gill 14 , Venkatesh Iyer 7)

On to the SRH debutant Umran Malik now. First ball, plenty of width and Gill plays it away for a four. Next up, he almost has the KKR batter. 141.5kmph short ball and Gill is unable to control the pull. Luckily for him, it doesn’t carry to anyone. 9 runs from the over and Malik is getting some serious pace in these deliveries, already clocking 150kmph