IPL 2021, KKR vs DC as it happened: Nitish Rana guides Kolkata Knight Riders to 3-wicket win

KKR win by 3 wickets

Nitish Rana remains unbeaten on 36 off 27. Crucial two points for Eoin Morgan and Co. Delhi Capitals were outplayed today.

KKR 126/7 after 18 overs: WICKET! Tim Southee swings hard but is clean bowled by Avesh Khan. KKR are almost home, though. They need two runs in two overs.

KKR 122/6 after 16.5 overs: WICKET! Nortje gets Narine but it’s probably too little too late. KKR need 6 off 19. The left-hander tried to whack it again but got a top-edge this time.

KKR 119/5 after 16 overs: 6, 4, 6! Narine goes after Rabada and that should be enough to seal the fate of the match. Rabada kept banging in it and Narine kept getting the pull shot right. KKR need 9 off 24.

KKR 96/5 after 14.4 overs: WICKET! Three dot balls and bowled! Avesh Khan gets the better of Dinesh Karthik (12 off 14). Delhi Capitals are still in this. KKR have lost half their side and need 32 off 32. Sunil Narine is the new batter.

KKR 96/4 after 14 overs: Back-to-back sixes from Nitish Rana as he decides to go after Lalit Yadav. DK then gets another outside edge for four. Expensive over for DC. A much-needed push for KKR, they need 32 off 36.

KKR 76/4 after 13 overs: Dinesh Karthik comes to the crease and gets busy immediately. He first plays a gorgeous drive through cover and mid-off for two, before slashing hard and getting an outside edge for four. Seven runs come from Kagiso Rabada’s second over. KKR need 52 off 42.

KKR 67/4 after 11.2 overs: WICKET! Eoin Morgan is gone for a two-ball duck! The left-hander got an edge and Lalit took a sharp catch in the slips. Ashwin is pumped! Delhi Capitals believe!

KKR 67/3 after 11 overs: WICKET! Stunning first over from Kagiso Rabada! He bowls five dot balls before dismissing Shubman Gill (30 off 33). The right-hander stepped out and pulled it but the ball went straight to long-on. KKR need 61 off 54.

KKR 62/2 after 9 overs: It was looking like it’s going to be another good over for DC but Rana sweeps the last ball by Ashwin for four. KKR need 66 off 66.

KKR 54/2 after 8 overs: Superb over from Axar, just two runs from it. The left-arm spinner was hit for a six off the second ball of his spell but has fought back brilliantly to have figures of 0/13 from 3 overs.

KKR 52/2 after 7 overs: SIX! Gill whacks one from Ashwin and it just about clears the long-on fielder. KKR need 76 off 78.

KKR 43/2 after 5.5 overs: WICKET! Avesh Khan strikes in his first over and Rahul Tripathi (9 off 5) has to walk back. He checked the drive and offered a simple catch to mid-off. Delhi Capitals are putting up a fight with the ball. Nitish Rana is the new batter.

KKR 28/1 after 4.3 overs: WICKET! Lalit Yadav gets Delhi Capitals the breakthrough. Venkatesh Iyer (14 off 15) tries to flick the ball but is clean bowled. Rahul Tripathi is the new batter.

KKR 26/0 after 4 overs: Another decent over for DC as Axar concedes just four singles. They need wickets, though. KKR have no scoreboard pressure.

KKR 22/0 after 3 overs: Ashwin joins the attack and bowls a quiet first over – three singles, a double and a wide.

KKR 16/0 after 2 overs: SIX! First maximum of the match and it comes from Gill’s bat. Axar tossed it up and the right-hander stepped out to slam it straight back. Top shot.

KKR 9/0 after 1 over: Venkatesh Iyer is up and running with two boundaries in the first over! The first one was a drive past cover and the next a pull in the gap. Expensive start from Anrich Nortje.

5.35 pm: Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer are at the crease. The target for KKR is 128. Anrich Nortje has the new ball in hand. Here we go!

Delhi Capitals finish with 127/9

Avesh Khan run out by Dinesh Karthik off the last ball. Not a single six hit in that DC innings!

DC 122/8 after 19.2 overs: WICKET! A superb throw by substitute Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant (39 off 36) is run-out. Delhi simply haven’t got going today.

DC 120/7 after 19.1 overs: WICKET! Ashwin finds the fielder in the deep as Delhi Capitals lose their seventh. Some heated words exchanged between Ashwin, Southee and Morgan after that dismissal.

DC 120/6 after 19 overs: Pant picks up another boundary thanks to a misfield at long-off. But Iyer did brilliantly to get his yorkers right in that over. DC would want to get at least 10 in the last over by Southee.

DC 110/6 after 18 overs: Four! Pant finally finds the middle of his bat and gets it wide of long-off. Eight runs come from that Southee over.

DC 102/6 after 17 overs: Pant is swinging hard but just not getting any sort of timing. KKR lose their review after Morgan takes DRS for a caught-behind shout. The replay showed no spike. Varun finishes with figures of 0/24.

DC 92/6 after 15.3 overs: WICKET! This is quite the collapse by Delhi Capitals. This time it’s Axar Patel walking back for a five-ball duck. Venkatesh Iyer gets his second as Lockie Ferguson takes a fine low catch at mid-wicket. R Ashwin is the new batter, with Pant (20 off 21) at the other end.

DC 89/5 after 14.3 overs: WICKET! There’s no stopping KKR at the moment! Lalit Yadav is out for a three-ball duck. Sunil Narine gets his second. The right-hander tried to work it to the leg side and was struck plumb in front.

Score in the last four overs: 24/2

DC 88/4 after 13.5 overs: WICKET! Shimron Hetmyer (4 off 5) doesn’t last long as Venkatesh Iyer gets his first. KKR are dominating the middle overs with the ball.

DC 77/3 after 12.2 overs: WICKET! Steve Smith (39 off 34) gets an inside edge and is clean bowled! Lockie Ferguson gets his second. Delhi Capitals continue to struggle.

DC 77/2 after 12 overs: Venkatesh Iyer joins the attack and bowls a fine over, conceding just three singles and a leg bye in his first over.

DC 73/2 after 11 overs: Shot! Narine tosses one up and Smith sweeps it hard for four. The Australian moves on to 37 off 29. Meanwhile, Pant has gotten off to a slow start (10 off 12).

DC 64/2 after 10 overs: Back-to-back boundaries for Smith! He clips one past short-fine before cutting the next ball in the gap. Varun with the most expensive over of the match so far.

DC 52/2 after 9 overs: Just five runs come from Narine’s second over. KKR’s spinners are putting in the choke nicely. Smith and Pant are looking for boundaries but struggling to time the ball.

DC 47/2 after 8 overs: Another good over from Varun, just five singles from it. Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant has joined Smith at the crease now. They need to up the ante soon.

DC 40/2 after 6.2 overs: WICKET! Sunil Narine strikes with his second ball! Shreyas Iyer was clueless against that delivery and his stumps are rattled. Delhi Capitals in trouble!

DC 39/1 after 6 overs: Varun Chakravarthy comes on to bowl and concedes just four runs in his first over. Shreyas Iyer is the new batter for Delhi. KKR will be happy with their performance in the powerplay.

DC 35/1 after 5 overs: WICKET! Lockie Ferguson strikes in his first over! Shikhar Dhawan (24 off 20) was striking the ball well once again but he finds the fielder this time. It was short and wide, Dhawan cut it hard but straight to Venkatesh Iyer at point.

DC 29/0 after 4 overs: Dhawan survives! He was struck in front by Southee and Morgan went for the review. After a lengthy delay, DRS finally came up and it showed umpire’s call on wickets.

DC 22/0 after 3 overs: Two more fours for Dhawan! Warrier drifted on to the pads both times and the left-hander connected nicely with the flick shots. Smith then ends the over with two plays-and-misses outside off.

DC 12/0 after 2 overs: Dhawan picks up another boundary! Southee, making his debut for KKR, gets it to nip away from the left-hander and the thick outside edge flies past the keeper for four.

DC 5/0 after 1 over: Smith gets off the mark with a single off the first ball. Warrier then bowls three dot balls to Dhawan before offering a juicy full-toss on the pads, and the left-hander flicks it hard in the gap for four.

3.30 pm: A new opening pair for Delhi Capitals in Steve Smith and Shikhar Dhawan. Sandeep Warrier has the new ball in hand for KKR. Here we go!

Playing XIs:

Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Steven Smith, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ashwin Ravichandran, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (w), Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sandeep Warrier.

3.04 pm: KKR have two changes: Tim Southee and Sandeep Warrier replace Andre Russell and Prasidh Krishna. Delhi Capitals have one change: Steve Smith replaces Prithvi Shaw (injured).

Toss:

Eoin Morgan has won the toss and KKR will bowl first in Sharjah.

IPL 2021 results, fixtures and points table: SRH get their second win of the season as RR falter

2.50 pm: Hello and welcome to live coverage of match No 41 of Indian Premier League 2021. In today’s first game, Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders take on Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.