IPL 2021, Qualifier 2, DC vs KKR as it happened: Tripathi wins it with a six after DC fightback

Tripathi, who hit the match-winning six: It feels great. One or two tough overs. Didn’t think it will go so deep... I knew that I just needed to connect with one hit. Luckily there was a spinner.

DC skipper Pant: I don’t think we have words to express how I am feeling right now. Can’t change anything after the game.

KKR 136/7 after 19.5 overs: SIX! Finally, KKR get a shot and it is a six. Tripathi takes KKR over the line after it seemed like they were badly choking. What an incredible finish to a dull match... KKR win by 3 wickets and book a place to take on CSK in the final.

KKR 130/7 after 19.4 overs: WICKET! Narine c Axar b Ashwin 0(1)
Narine went for the big shot down the ground and he is caught. What are KKR doing! This is just mad. Kolkata Knight Riders now need 6 runs in 2 balls

KKR 130/6 after 19.3 overs: WICKET! Shakib lbw b Ashwin 0(2)
Ashwin strikes to trap Shakib LBW. The batter was trying to scoop it but missed it completely. Kolkata Knight Riders now need 6 runs in 3 balls.

KKR 129/5 after 19 overs: WICKET! Morgan b Nortje 0(3)
A misfield by Shreyas Iyer gave Tripathi a two early in the over. But Nortje came back so well in the over and even took a wicket off the final ball with Morgan playing it back onto the stumps. Kolkata Knight Riders need 7 runs in 6 balls.

KKR 126/4 after 18 overs: WICKET! Karthik b Rabada 0(3)
Karthik went for the big shot and got bowled instead. A brilliant over by Rabada and the equations has not changed to 10 off 12. KKR making this interesting.

KKR 125/3 after 16.4 overs: WICKET! Shubman Gill c Pant b Avesh Khan 46(46)
It was a wide delivery and Gill tried to drive on the up. Got the edge through to the keeper. KKR need 11 from 20.

Kolkata Knight Riders need 13 runs in 24 balls

KKR 123/2 after 16 overs: WICKET! Nitish Rana c Hetmyer b Nortje 13(12) Rana helps that to the folder in the deep but a six earlier in the over for KKR – a short-arm jab almost by Gill – means that Morgan’s team are in control.

KKR 113/1 after 15 overs: Oh dear. In the space of three matches, Ashwin puts down a second sitter. Sums up Delhi’s night. Dc players are not even angry, they have clocked out by the looks of it. An overthrow to finish that Avesh over.

KKR 108/1 after 14 overs: Not been Axar’s day on a couple of counts. Another six off his bowling, Rana smacks one down the ground.

A very smart auction move as it turned out.

Over 12.2: WICKET! Venkatesh Iyer (55) c sub (Steve Smith) b Kagiso Rabada, 96/1

End of a fine innings. Venky (55 iff 41 balls) hits that straight to the fielder in the deep. Wicket for Rabada and DC finally have a breakthrough. Too late though, the win is imminent.

KKR 92/0 after 12 overs: Venky Iyer is all smiles. Why shouldn’t be! What an introduction to IPL for him.

HALF CENTURY: The third of his brief yet impressive IPL career. Venkatesh Iyer has been central to KKR’s turnaround in UAE, it’s fitting that he is leading their charge into the final.

Venky Iyer on 49*

KKR 88/0 after 11 overs: KKR not really hanging about in this run-chase. A one-handed swipe from Venky over point goes for four and then Nortje bangs one in short, fast and wide... goes for 5! Pant looks down on the turf, DC’s shoulders are drooping.

KKR 76/0 after 10 overs: A six for Venky off Axar off the first ball... and KKR’s required rate is met just with that alone. It’s a 9-run over, a bonus.

KKR 67/0 after 9 overs: Sensible batting this by the KKR openers, 1s and a 2 in that Ashwin over and they keep it at run-a-ball which is close to the required rate at the moment. 69 off 66 needed.

KKR 61/0 after 8 overs: a 5-run over from Rabada doesn’t really do much for Delhi at this point.

How DC’s day is going...

KKR 56/0 after 7 overs: Ashwin trying a slightly more slouched version of his action perhaps to exploit the low bounce. Not quite working for DC or him. Risk free five-run over.

KKR 51/0 after 6 overs: If powerplays decide matches in Sharjah, KKR have this in the bag big time. A superb shot for four by Venky in that over through midwicket, timing it like a dream. Avesh goes for 9, DC go for a timeout.

KKR 42/0 after 5 overs: Eventful over from Rabada but not in a good way for Delhi. First, a disdainful shot over midwicket for six by Venky. Then, a tap back to bowler is dropped. For an athlete like Rabada, that was a catchable one even if there are no easy catches for pacers on their follow through.

KKR 30/0 after 4 overs: It’s been a less than ideal day already for Axar who is out of India’s main World Cup squad and he starts off by conceding a six to Venky. A brilliant shot over midwicket.

KKR 21/0 after 3 overs: Steady over from Avesh, but still six runs from it partly thanks to a misfield in the deep by Hetmyer.

KKR 15/0 after 2 overs: R Ashwin takes the new ball from the other end, tosses one up, and gets swept by Venkatesh Iyer for four. Five singles and a boundary in that over.

KKR 6/0 after 1 over: Shot! Nortje with a poor delivery to start the innings and Gill pounces on it with a cover-drive for four. The South African pacer did well to concede just two runs more in the rest of the over.

9.29 pm: The players are back on the field for the chase. DC have given themselves a chance thanks to Iyer’s knock, but KKR will fancy their chances of hunting down this total. Here we go!

Delhi Capitals: 135/5 (20): Mavi finishes with 4-0-27-1, a 15-run over spoiling his otherwise great figures.

End of DC’s innings, 135/5: A full toss from Mavi and it is smashed down the ground for six by Shreyas Iyer! Went deep in the crease and made the most of the length. A good last over for Delhi, who get close to 140 (and just short of RCB’s score in the previous match that took the match to the last over). Iyer finishes on 30* (27)

19.2: Iyer connects one wide of long on. A four, helps DC get close to 130.

Mavi with the final over.

Axar on strike for the last over. DC 120/5

18.3: WICKET! Shimron Hetmyer (17) run out (Venkatesh Iyer/Dinesh Karthik), 117/5

After a mid-pitch conversation, not the best of runs attempted by #Hetmiyer. Hit straight to point, Iyer takes off and Hetmyer can’t reach in time as Venky nails a throw to DK.

Narine to bowl the 19th

DC 114/4 after 18 overs: Big hits from Shimron! The man can pack a punch. Whether KKR will regret that no ball dismissal is too early to say but Hetmyer has smashed two sixes over the leg side in Ferguson’s over to make the most of his second chance for now.

DC 99/4 after 17 overs: Not a costly free hit, just a single. Three over to get to 130? Can DC do it? Will that be enough? Will Hetmyer make KKR pay for that mistake?

DRAMA: Wicket.... no, it’s a no ball! A stunning catch from Gill at long on to dismiss Hetmyer but it is a no ball by the smallest of margins. Many replays, many zoom-ins... goes against the bowler.

DC 92/4 after 15 overs: Solid over from Ferguson, hanbrakes for Delhi.

Pant has a good record in the playoffs, tonight wasn’t his night. It hasn’t exactly been any batter’s night so far. Hetmyer joins Iyer.

Over 15.2: WICKET! Rishabh Pant (6) c Rahul Tripathi b Lockie Ferguson, 90/4

Ferguson hits the hard length again. Pant tries to go hard, down the track but mistimes it completely. Caught at long off.

DC 90/3 after 15 overs: A lucky four for Pant to help him get going perhaps. Mavi misfields.

A 36-ball 39 for Dhawan, despite two sixes against Narine. Not his night, it is fair to say.

Over 14.1: WICKET! Shikhar Dhawan (36) c Shakib Al Hasan b Varun Chakaravarthy, 83/3

And the set batter is back, just as we thought he could make a difference. Goes for a big shot against Varun’s spin, caught at point. DC’s scoring rate has gone below 6 RPO.

DC 83/2 after 14 overs: The good news still for Delhi is they have six overs to go hard at the end and have a set batter to do that, the bad news is batting is not getting any easier. Iyer tries to go big down the ground in that Mavi over, barely any timing on that.

DC 77/2 after 13 overs: A superb over from Mavi is followed by another tight one by Shakib. Shreyas is the new batter in for DC and he will hope to put his spin-hitting capabilities to some use here. Pant still to come, Delhi have to go hard now.

Over 11.3: WICKET! Marcus Stoinis (18) b Shivam Mavi, 71/2

With spinners giving away nothing, Stoinis simply had to go after pace and misses it. A promotion that didn’t work out. A 23-ball 18.

DC 70/1 after 11 overs: A stumping appeal in that Narine over but Stoinis is safe. No easy runs at this stage for Delhi.

DC 65/1 after 10 overs: Dhawan, on 21 off 26, needed to find some quick runs and does well in that Varun over to nail one down the ground (stopped well) and then a sweep for four. Getting closer to the 100 SR mark. Given the time he has spent DC need him to make it count.

DC 55/1 after 9 overs: What a superb over from Narine. Dhawan in all sorts of trouble trying to pick which ball moves where. Just three singles.

After a 14-run first over, Narine returns.

DC 52/1 after 8 overs: Mavi starts off with a 3-run over. KKR really have found the right lengths to bowl in this venue, and sticking to their fields. But DC would be happy to have wickets for the back-end. Timeout. A penny for Punter’s thoughts.

DC 49/1 after 7 overs: DK has not had the best of times behind the stumps in the recent past. Shakib does brilliantly to bluff Dhawan and send one down the leg side when he comes down the track. DK was not on the same page, it seemed. Couldn’t collect. Stoinis gets going with a four over cover.

DC 38/1 after 6 overs: Given powerplays go a long way in determining outcome in Sharjah, KKR will be delighted with this! DC had a few big hits, unlike RCB who did not hit even a single six in the Eliminator, but they have scored fewer runs than Kohli’s men did.

Over 4.1: WICKET! Prithvi Shaw (18) lbw Varun Chakaravarthy, 32/1

What a start for Varun CV! Slides one through, Shaw misreads the line, and it is pad first. Given out, not reviewed and it is a good call

DC 32/0 after 4 overs: Now that’s how you make up for a slow start! Dhawan takes on Narine, who had a dream match here day before, and hits back-to-back sixes. Two superbly timed sweep shots.

DC 18/0 after 3 overs: Pure timing from Shaw as he dances down to Shakib (a dangerous ploy but executed well!) and sends one over midwicket for six. Follows that up with a cut for four. Dhawan gets off the mark.

DC 6/0 after 2 overs: Pace from the other end and Shaw immediately frees his arms to a length ball from Ferguson. Punched for four. Dhawan meanwhile is on 0 off 7.

DC 1/0 after 1 over: Terrific first over from Shakib, keeping things on the stumps and tight. Dhawan faced 4 deliveries and couldn’t put anything away.

And we are all set to begin. Dhawan and Shaw in the middle and they will have to make the Powerplay overs count. So important in a T20, but especially more so this year in Sharjah.

Playing XIs:

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

Delhi Capitals XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje

TOSS NEWS: Kolkata Knight Riders win the toss and elect to field, something they are confident of doing at this venue from their performance against RCB.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of Qualifier 2 of IPL 2021. We are one match away from finding out who will take on the Chennai Super Kings in the final. Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders have blazed a new trail in phase II but Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals have been the form team of the season... the one that has relied on great balance between its batting and bowling departments and this is not an easy match to call.

KKR defeated RCB in the Eliminator to reach Qualifier 2 while DC lost to CSK in Qualifier 1. KKR have done well at Sharjah and their three quality spinners really come into the picture at the venue. Delhi have a couple of very good spinners of their own but their form has dipped a little of late.

Still, if you don’t win today, the season is over. Both teams will know that and will want to put their best foot forward.