RCB seal place in playoffs, KKR beats SRH by six wickets

KATHMANDU, October 4: The Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 48 of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Sharjah on Sunday and became the third team after Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals to seal a place in the Playoffs.

While Glenn Maxwell starred with the bat, Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers as RCB secured a six-run win.

Needing 165 runs to win, PBKS skipper KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal once again put up a fantastic show with the bat. The pair scored at a good click and brought up the fifty-run stand in the seventh over.

Mayank, who was batting on 20 from 20 balls at the end of the seventh over, started to shift the gears. The right-hander scored four fours over the course of the next three fours as PBKS reached 81/0 after 10 overs.

Shahbaz Ahmed gave RCB their first success with the ball as he got KL Rahul out for 39 in the 11th over. While Mayank brought up a fine half-century in the 13th over, Chahal dismissed Nicholas Pooran as RCB picked the second PBKS wicket.

While Aiden Markram and Mayank pushed PBKS past 110 after 15 overs, Chahal, in his double-wicket 16th over, dismissed Mayank and Sarfaraz Khan to push PBKS on the backfoot. George Garton then had the better of Markram in the 17th over.

While Shahrukh Khan opened his shoulders and hit a couple of big hits, it was not enough as RCB went on to beat PBKS by 6 runs.

RCB, who were unchanged, elected to bat against PBKS, who made three changes to their side, bringing in Harpreet Brar, Sarfaraz Khan and Moises Henriques.

While PBKS conceded just 11 runs in the first two overs, Padikkal hit a six and a four in the third over. PBKS then squandered two chances in an over – one stumping against Kohli and one catch to dismiss Padikkal. RCB captain Kohli got another reprieve in the next over after Sarfaraz could not hold onto a sharp catch before RCB ended the powerplay at 55/0.

PBKS started to turn the tide through Henriques. The all-rounder snapped two wickets in the tenth over – his first of the match – dismissing Kohli and Daniel Christian. He then had the better of Padikkal in the 12th over.

Glenn Maxwell though counterattacked. He took on Brar in the 13th over, tonking two sixes. In the 15th over, Maxwell went after Bishnoi, hammering two maximums as RCB moved past 100.

Maxwell and AB de Villiers then targeted Mohammad Shami in the 17th over, scoring 17 runs with the help of two fours and a six. The pair brought up a fifty-run stand while Maxwell completed his fifty in the next over.

While ABD cranked a six in the penultimate over, he was run-out in the same over, courtesy a direct-hit from Sarfaraz. Shami then delivered a three-wicket final over before RCB eventually posted 164/7 on the board.

Likewise, Bowlers shared the spoils while Shubman Gill scored 57 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 49 of the VIVO Indian Premier League in Dubai on Sunday.

After they restricted SRH to 115/8, KKR chased down the target in 19.4 overs to seal their sixth win of the season.

SRH kept the things tight in the ball and it helped them scalp the wicket of Venkatesh Iyer as Kane Williamson took a fine catch off Jason Holder’s bowling in the fifth over. Rashid Khan was introduced into the attack in the seventh over and the leg-spinner struck straight away, dismissing Rahul Tripathi.

KKR needed a partnership and that’s what the pair of Gill and Nitish Rana. The two mixed caution and cashed in on every scoring opportunity.

Gill then completed a fine half-century in the 15th over before he and Rana completed a half-century stand in the 16th over. However, the two got out in quick succession. While Siddarth Kaul dismissed Gill for 57, Holder picked his second wicket, getting Rana out.

Dinesh Karthik, who completed 4000 IPL runs, and captain Eoin Morgan then took KKR across the finish line.

Earlier, after SRH elected to bat, KKR set the ball rolling from the word go as Tim Southee dismissed Wriddhiman Saha in the first over. Jason Roy was the next man to get out as Shivam Mavi struck in the fourth over.

While Williamson scored a brisk 26, his innings came to an end following Shakib Al Hasan’s brilliant direct-hit. Shakib then had the better of Abhishek Sharma in the 11th over.

KKR continued to make merry with the ball as Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed Priyam Garg for 21 in the 15th over to reduce SRH to 70/5. KKR continued to chip away and then went on to limit SRH to 115/8.