Kolkata Knight Riders reached their first Indian Premier League final in seven years with a nervy three-wicket win over last year’s finalist Delhi Capitals in the playoffs on Wednesday. Kolkata lost seven wickets for 40 runs before managing to reach 136-7 after Venkatesh Iyer (55) and Shubman Gill (46) had contributed 96 runs for the opening-wicket stand. Kagiso Rabada (2-23) and Andrich Nortje (2-31) claimed two wickets each and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up two wickets in the last over before Rahul Tripathi hammered a six to see Kolkata through to their third IPL final. Kolkata have turned the tide in their favor on the slow pitches of the United Arab Emirates, winning seven of their nine games since the IPL resumed after six months due to the pandemic. They beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator and then adjusted well on the slow and sluggish wicket of Sharjah on Wednesday to restrict Delhi to 135-5. Two-time champion Kolkata last won the title in 2014 when they beat Punjab Kings in the final. In a repeat of the 2012 final, Kolkata will meet Chennai Super Kings in Friday’s title game. Here’s how the Twitterati reacted to KKR’s last-gasp win over DC, a majority cheering Kolkata on for continuing their fairytale run with some sympathising with Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant:
An exciting game of cricket. The nerves towards the end. Whoof! 🙌 Superb work boys. All the hard work paying off @KKRiders 💜💜 pic.twitter.com/e023wqIY8Q
— Kuldeep yadav (@imkuldeep18) October 13, 2021
That was intense…brilliant win @KKRiders 1 more to go!! #KorboLorboJeetbo
— Pat Cummins (@patcummins30) October 13, 2021
That was the most incredible 4 over turnaround. Kolkata almost outdoing Punjab, but Tripathi saving it. Great game. #DCvsKKR
— Virrender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 13, 2021
OMG 😱 I am so glad that I woke up for that last 20 minutes of the match!! @KKRiders into the finals after they stutter and limp to the finish line. One of the great comeback in the #IPL2021 have been the tram in purple!!
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 13, 2021
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Rishabh Pant did extremely well in his debut season as captain. He's just 24, plus does a tough job of Wicketkeeping. Really happy to see his growth as a captain, he's a champion guy and will comeback hard next season.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 13, 2021
Watching Kolkata Knight Riders finish a match is injurious for one's health.
— Affan (@mdaffanulhaque) October 13, 2021
With inputs from AP