Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals Indian Premier League, 2021

SIX! BANG! Rahul Tripathi HAS DONE IT FOR KOLKATA! He has taken his side into the final! This is a half-tracker, outside off. Rahul Tripathi stays low and powers it over long off for a biggie to seal the match! Kolkata win the match by 3 wickets!

Lockie Ferguson walks out to bat.

OUT! TAKEN! A golden duck for Sunil Narine and the Kolkata camp will be very, very nervous! Tossed up, on off. He comes down the track and hits it high in the air. The ball goes to long off and Axar Patel takes it. Wow, how did we get there? This is simply unbelievable. Ravichandran Ashwin is on a hat-trick now.

Sunil Narine is the new man in.

OUT! LBW! DEAR, OH DEAR! What have Kolkata done here? They had the game in their bag but have managed to get Delhi back in the game! It is Delhi's game to lose now! Flatter ball, on middle. Shakib Al Hasan shuffles across to paddle but gets hit on the pads. There is an appeal for LBW and the finger goes up! 6 needed from 3 now.

DOT BALL! 6 from 4 now! Darted on the pads. Shakib Al Hasan backs away looking to sweep but gets hit on the pads.

Just a single! Shorter ball, outside off. Rahul Tripathi hits it to long on for one. 6 from 5 now.

Shakib Al Hasan walks out to bat. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin comes back to bowl the last over.

OUT! BOWLED! DELHI ARE NOT OUT YET! How many twists are there in this game? Length ball, outside off. Morgan looks to heave it across the line but gets the inside edge. The ball crashes back on the stumps and Morgan goes back for a duck! 7 needed in the last over!

DOT BALL AGAIN! This is gold dust being provided by Anrich Nortje! Full ball, wide outside off. Morgan goes for it but misses. There is an appeal for caught behind as there is a sound while the ball crosses the bat. But the umpire is unmoved.

ANOTHER DOT! On a length, outside off. Morgan comes down the track but hits it straight towards short cover. 7 from 8 now.

Just a single now. Short of a length, outside off. Rahul Tripathi hits it to long on for one.

DOT BALL! Full ball, on leg. Rahul Tripathi goes for the slog but gets hit on the pads. The ball goes to point and Tripathi looks to sneak a single but is sent back.

Misfield! Length ball, on off. Rahul Tripathi punches it to covers. But a midfield by Shreyas Iyer allows the ball through and they get a couple. 8 from 11 now.

Eoin Morgan walks out to bat. Anrich Nortje will bowl this over. 10 needed from 2 overs.

OUT! BOWLED! Well, well! Is there another twist in this game? Good-length ball, outside off. Dinesh Karthik looks to heave it away but it goes off the thick inside edge and the ball crashes onto his stumps. What an over from Kagiso Rabada! Just 1 run and a wicket off this over!

Short and wide. Rahul Tripathi cuts it to deep point for a single.

Make it four in a row! Good-length ball, around off. Rahul Tripathi skips down and punches hard but finds the cover fielder.

Three dots in a row! Another slower ball, outside off, staying a bit low. Rahul Tripathi looks to cut but he fails to get any bat on it.

Another dot ball! Slower ball, shorter in length, outside off. Rahul Tripathi looks to play it across the line but he misses.

Good-length ball, on middle. Rahul Tripathi blocks it out.

Slower ball, shorter in length, outside off. Dinesh Karthik hangs back to cut but he misses. 11 runs needed from 18 balls now!

Full ball, on middle and leg. Dinesh Karthik drives it to mid on.

Dinesh Karthik walks out to bat.

OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Shubman Gill departs now and Avesh Khan gets his man! A full ball, outside off. Gill reaches out and looks to drive but he only manages a thick outside edge. Rishabh Pant, behind the sticks, moves to his right and takes a good catch.

Short of a length, outside off. Rahul Tripathi shimmies down and works it to wide of mid off for a run.

Good-length ball, on middle. Gill skips down and heaves it to deep mid-wicket for a single.

Back of a length, outside off. Shubman Gill looks to cut but he misses.

Strategic Time-Out! So, here is the situation. Barring a horrible collapse from here, Morgan will stand with Dhoni for the coin toss in Dubai on 15th October. Kolkata are well and truly on top and only the finish strokes are left to be applied. Rahul Tripathi walks out to bat.

OUT! TAKEN! Nitish Rana holes out and Kolkata lose their second wicket! Nortje bangs it into the deck, around middle. Rana looks to pull but the ball hurries onto him and it goes off the splice of the bat towards Shimron Hetmyer at deep square leg who gulps it down. Too little, too late for Delhi but they will take this! 13 runs needed from 24 balls.

Length ball, around middle and leg. Gill works it down the ground for one.

SIX! WOW! This is a serious shot from Gill! Back of a length, around off. Gill stands tall and flat-bats it over long on for a maximum!

A full toss, on the pads. Rana drills it to long on for a run.

Good-length ball, on middle. Shubman Gill works it to long on for a single.

Back of a length, outside off. Nitish Rana cuts it to point and takes a quick run. Steven Smith has a shy at the bowler's end but he misses. Had that been a direct hit, Rana was a goner!

Anrich Nortje (2-0-18-0) is back on.

Short of a length, outside off. Slapped to covers. The fielder misses his shy at the bowler's end and the batters take an overthrow.

Short ball, outside off. Gill goes for the pull but gets the bottom edge back on the ground.

Full ball, outside off. Rana pushes it past point for one.

On a length, outside off. Rana misses the drive. Wide called.

Length ball, outside off. Pushed to third man for one.

DROPPED!  A sitter has gone down! Short ball, outside off. Rana goes for the slog but gets the outside edge. The ball goes to third man but Ravichandran Ashwin makes a mess of it. The batters cross for a run.

Change. Avesh Khan (2-0-15-0) is back on.

Flatter ball, on off. Gill misses the sweep.

Shorter ball, outside off. Rana cuts it wide of sweeper cover for one.

SIX! Hammered! Full ball, outside off. Rana gets under it and smacks it straight down the ground for a maximum. 29 needed from 38 balls now.

Just a single as this is pushed to long off.

Shorter ball, outside off. Punched to deep cover for one.

Tossed up, on off. Gill comes down the track and hits it to long on for one.

On a length, on leg. Rana blocks it out with ease.

Shorter ball, outside off. Gill pulls it to deep mid-wicket for one.

On a length, outside off. Pushed past covers for one.

Length ball, on off. Blocked out.

Nitish Rana walks out to bat.

OUT! TAKEN! A brilliant, brilliant knock by Iyer ends. From here, Kolkata would have to bat terribly to lose the game. Length ball, on off. He pulls it straight to the man at deep square leg. The substitute fielder, Steven Smith, takes it with ease. Is there a twist in the tale here?

FOUR! Edgy boundary! Full ball, wide outside off. Iyer looks to go over covers but gets the outside edge. The ball runs to the third man fence.

Kagiso Rabada comes back to bowl.

Darted on off. Gill comes down the track to hit it but gets hit on the pads. There is a big appeal for LBW but turned down.

Full toss, on off. Iyer gets low and hits it to deep mid-wicket for one.

Tossed up, outside off. Gill gets low and sweeps it away for one.

Fuller ball, on off. Blocked out.

FIFTY FOR IYER! This has been a brilliant knock by him and he has made sure that his team is in a very comfortable position. Flatter ball, outside off. Pushed to short third man for one.

Tossed up, on off. Gill hits it to long on for one.

Full toss, outside off. Iyer hits it to covers.

Length ball, on off. Gill hits it to long on for one.

Full ball, on leg. Pushed to long on for one.

FIVE WIDES! Nortje sprays this one way down leg. Rishabh Pant dives to his right but he has no chance! The ball races away to the fence.

FOUR! Over the fielder! Length ball, outside off. Iyer goes over covers. The bottom hand comes off the bat but the ball reaches the fence.

On a length, outside off. Pushed to covers.

Length ball, on off. Pushed to long off for one.

On a length, around middle and leg. Gill turns it to deep mid-wicket and collects a single. 60 runs needed off 60 balls!

Floated, around off. Shubman Gill drives hard but finds the cover fielder.

Quicker ball, outside off. Venkatesh Iyer stays back and cuts it to deep point for a single.

Overpitched ball, on middle and leg. Venkatesh Iyer digs it out.

Flatter ball, around off. Venkatesh Iyer cuts it to point.

Wide! Too wide. outside off. Venkatesh Iyer misses his cut. Wide called by the umpire.

SIX! BANG! What a clean strike! Flatter ball, on the pads. Iyer stands tall and heaves it way over the deep mid-wicket fence for a biggie!

Axar Patel is back on. He went for 9 in his first over.

A half-tracker, on middle and leg. Shubman Gill whacks it to deep mid-wicket. Steven Smith there, fumbles and concedes an extra run.

Flatter ball, outside off. Shubman Gill cuts hard but finds the backward point fielder.

Tossed up, outside off. Venkatesh Iyer shimmies down and works it to long off for one.

Change of blades for Venkatesh Iyer.

Ashwin fires in a quicker ball, on middle. Venkatesh Iyer hangs back and punches it off the back foot to the left of the bowler.

Flatter ball, on middle. Gill skips down to slog but it goes off the thick inside edge to square leg for a run.

Wide! Ashwin spills this one down leg. Shubman Gill lets it be. Wided!

Tossed up, on off. Venkatesh Iyer heaves it towards Shikhar Dhawan at long on who moves quickly to his right to keep it down to just one.

Good-length ball, on middle. Shubman Gill tucks it to mid-wicket. 5 runs from the over!

Back of a length, outside off. Venkatesh Iyer looks to cut but it goes off the thick outside edge towards third man. The batters cross for a single.

Length ball, jagging back in from middle and leg. Shubman Gill flicks it behind square on the leg side for a run.

Slower ball, outside off. Gill looks to cut but it goes off the under edge to Rishabh Pant behind the sticks, on the bounce.

Length ball, outside off. Gill prods and drives it past covers for a couple of runs.

Full ball, on middle and leg. Venkatesh Iyer lofts it over the bowler's head for a single.

Excellent running! Floated, around middle. Gill waits for the ball to arrive and flicks it towards deep mid-wicket. Anrich Nortje comes running in from deep mid-wicket and the batters run hard to complete the second run.

Tossed up, around middle and leg. Venkatesh Iyer steps out and drills it to long on to rotate the strike.

On a length, darted on the pads. Gill stays back and works it to deep square leg for a run.

Loopy ball, on middle and leg. Venkatesh Iyer turns it to deep mid-wicket for a single.

Tossed up, on off. Iyer punches it to cover.

Flatter ball, around off. Venkatesh Iyer pushes it to point, off the outer half of the bat.

Strategic Time-Out! This has been a great start for Kolkata. Iyer and Gill have been on a roll so far and the Powerplay surely belongs to Kolkata. But as the ball gets older, scoring runs freely will become tougher and that is what Delhi would hope. Pant's brigade needs a couple of quick wickets to get back in the game and they need them quickly. Ravichandran Ashwin comes back on.

Good change of pace, from Khan! Slower ball, on a length, outside off. Shubman Gill looks to cut but he misses. Kolkata are 51/0 at the end of the Powerplay.

Full ball, outside off. Venkatesh Iyer guides it to third man for one.

Length ball, on middle and leg. Venkatesh Iyer flicks it to wide of deep square leg for a couple. Kolkata bring up their 50!

Good-length ball, around off. Shubman Gill taps it to cover and takes an easy run.

Back of a length, outside off. Venkatesh Iyer cuts it to deep point and collects a single.

FOUR! Nicely done! Length ball, on the pads. Venkatesh Iyer flicks it towards deep mid-wicket for a boundary. Shot of the match so far. He timed that very sweetly.

Length ball, outside off. Gill flicks it to deep square leg for a couple.

Short ball, way outside off. Gill goes for the cut but misses. Wide called.

Length ball, on the pads. Flicked to deep square leg for one.

DROPPED! How costly will this prove to be? Length ball, on off. Iyer looks to punch it down the ground but hits it back to the bowler. Rabada gets a touch low and gets his hands to it but drops.

Length ball, down the leg side. Iyer misses the flick. Wide called.

SIX! That is clobbered! Rabada digs this a touch shorter, on middle. Iyer comes down the track and heaves it over the mid-wicket fence.

On the pads and Gill flicks it to short fine leg. There is a direct hit at the keeper's end but Iyer has made it back in the crease.

Length ball, on the pads. Worked to mid-wicket.

Kagiso Rabada comes to bowl.

Just a single as Gill comes down the track and pushes it to long off.

Full ball, on leg. Pushed down to long on for one.

Flatter ball, on off. Iyer gets the inside edge back on the pads and back to the bowler.

SIX! In the arc and out of the park! Tossed up, on off. Iyer comes down the track and whips it way over the mid-wicket fence.

Flatter ball, on leg. Gill works it past square leg for one.

Darted on the pads. Worked towards square leg.

Axar Patel comes into the attack now.

Length ball, outside off. Gill hits it to deep backward point for one.

Short of a length, outside off. Gill misses the cut now.

Length ball, outside off. Iyer hits it to mid off for a quick single.

Shorter ball, on off. Gill hits it past the diving mid-wicket fielder. Shimron Hetmyer gets across from deep square leg but a fumble allows the batters to take the third.

Short of a length, outside off. Gill looks to cut but the ball stays low and goes under the bat.

Shorter ball, outside off. Iyer runs it to third man for one.

Avesh Khan comes into the attack.

Flatter ball, on leg. Iyer hits it to mid on and takes off for a quick single.

Flatter ball, outside off. Pushed to long on for one.

Darted on the pads. Iyer comes down the track and flicks it to deep mid-wicket for one.

FOUR! Quality stroke! Tossed up, on middle. Iyer gets low and sweeps it to the square leg fence. There was a fielder there but he was moved towards deep mid-wicket just before this ball and Iyer takes full advantage of that.

Tossed up, on leg. Worked to deep mid-wicket for one.

Flatter ball, outside off. Iyer hits it to the right of long off. It could have been a couple but they settle for one.

Ravichandran Ashwin will bowl from the other end.

Shorter ball, on middle. Iyer miscues the pull past mid-wicket for one. 6 from the first over.

On a length, outside off. Pushed to covers.

Length ball, around leg. Iyer looks to flick but gets hit on the pads. There is a huge appeal for LBW but the umpire is unmoved. It was pitching outside leg.

Length ball, on the pads. Blocked out.

Length ball, outside off. Gill runs it to third man for one.

FOUR! What a shot to get started! Full ball, outside off. Gill hits it through covers for a boundary.

SIX! HAMMERED! Mavi ends up serving a full toss, outside off. Iyer shuffles across and hits it straight down the ground for a maximum. Delhi end at 135 for 5!

Slower ball, fuller and outside off. Patel hits it to wide long on for one.

Yorker again, on off. Hit down to long on. They want the second but decide against it in the end.

Yorker, on off. Iyer plays it with soft hands to long on and sprints back for the second.

FOUR! In the gap! Slower ball, on a length, outside off. Iyer gets across and pulls it between wide long on and deep mid-wicket for a boundary.

Shivam Mavi (3-0-12-1) comes back to bowl the last over of the innings.

Length ball, on off. Heaved to deep mid-wicket for one.

Shorter ball, on leg. Patel hits it past short fine leg for one.

Flatter ball, on off. Iyer runs it to short third man for one.

Flatter ball, on the pads. Worked past square leg for one.

Axar Patel is the new man in.

OUT! RUN OUT! Brilliant work by Venkatesh Iyer! Shorter ball, outside off. Shreyas Iyer cuts it straight to point and sets off for a run. Venkatesh Iyer fires a perfect throw to Dinesh Karthik, who takes the bails off. Shimron Hetmyer is nowhere in the picture.

Darted on the pads. Shimron Hetmyer gets hit on the pads and the ball rolls away. One taken.

Shorter ball, on off. Punched to long on for one.

Flatter ball, way outside off. Iyer leaves it. Wide called.

SIX! That is punished by Shimron Hetmyer! Full ball, on off. He clears his front leg and whips it way over the mid-wicket fence.

Short of a length, outside off. Cut away to deep cover for one.

Length ball, around off. Iyer fails to get any bat on it.

Length ball, outside off. Shimron Hetmyer looks to smack it but gets the inside edge. The man at short fine leg dives and gets a hand to the ball. One taken.

SIX! All the way! On a length, on off. Shimron Hetmyer gets low and hits it high in the air. The ball goes just over the square leg fence.

Length ball, on off. Iyer works it to deep square leg for one.

Fuller ball, on the pads. Flicked past mid-wicket for one.

Tossed up, on off. Flicked past mid-wicket for one.

Shorter ball, outside off. Iyer looks to cut it away but ends up hitting in the air. The catch is taken but it is a Free Hit. The batters take one.

Is that a no ball? They are checking it now but Shimron Hetmyer has walked off the ground. It is a NO BALL!

NO BALL! Shimron Hetmyer comes running back in! Tossed up, on off. He heaves it to wide long on. The fielder runs in and dives forward to take a very good catch. Shimron Hetmyer walks off the ground but the umpires check for the no ball. It is very close and the TV umpire decides that it is a no ball. Free Hit coming up!

Flatter ball, on the pads. Flicked past square leg for one.

Shorter ball, on leg. Iyer works it past mid-wicket for one.

Flatter ball, outside off. Iyer looks to reverse sweep but misses.

Length ball, on off. Blocked out by Shimron Hetmyer.

Shorter ball, outside off. Pushed away to backward point.

Length ball, outside off. Iyer works it to deep mid-wicket for one.

Short of a length, outside off. Shimron Hetmyer runs it to third man for one.

Shimron Hetmyer walks out to bat now.

OUT! TAKEN! Now, Lockie Ferguson gets in the act! He bowls a shorter ball, on off. Pant backs away looking to pull it but gets the top edge as the ball bounces a bit more than he expected. It goes high in the air to mid off and it is taken by Rahul Tripathi. This has been a brilliant show by Kolkata and Delhi are in big trouble now.

Shorter ball, outside off. Pant comes down the track and hits it to mid off.

Tossed up, on leg. Hit down to long on for one.

Shorter ball, outside off. Iyer runs it to short third man for one.

Shorter ball, outside off. Cut away to deep cover for one.

FOUR! Misfield in the deep! Tossed up, on leg. Pant sweeps it hard. The man from deep square leg gets across but the ball goes through his legs and goes to the fence.

Shorter ball, outside off. Pushed to covers.

Time-Out! This is brilliant bowling by Kolkata. They have sent back Stoinis and Dhawan and now will be looking to strangle the batting side and not let them score freely. Delhi, on the other hand, would hope, the current pair keeps ticking and take it deep. Rishabh Pant walks out to bat.

OUT! TAKEN! Varun Chakravarthy gets the big wicket of Dhawan and Delhi slide further here! This one is a googly, outside off. Dhawan comes down the track looking to slog it away. He is nowhere near the pitch of the ball but goes through the stroke. All he gets is the outside edge and the ball goes to cover. Shakib Al Hasan dives forward and takes the catch.

Varun Chakravarthy (2-0-12-1) is back on.

Length ball, around off. Shikhar Dhawan skips down and pushes it to long off for a run.

In the air, but lands just in front of the long on fielder. Good-length ball, around off. Shreyas Iyer looks to heave it away but it goes off the toe end of the bat towards long on. The fielder comes running in from long on but the ball falls short of the fielder. The batters take one.

Good-length ball, angling in from middle. Shreyas Iyer blocks it out.

NOT OUT! Good-length ball, on middle. Shreyas Iyer heaves it towards Shubman Gill at deep mid-wicket and looks for the second run. Gill runs from deep mid-wicket, collects the ball and has a shy at the bowler's end. He hits the stumps but Dhawan is well inside the crease as confirmed by the TV umpire.

Is that a run out? Nope, Shikhar Dhawan is inside the crease.

Good-length ball, around off. Shikhar Dhawan skips down to slog but he miscues it wide of deep mid-wicket. The batters take one.

Back of a length, on middle. Shreyas Iyer works it to long on off the back foot for a run.

A tad short, outside off. Shreyas Iyer stays back and cuts it towards deep cover for a single.

Flatter ball, on middle and leg. Shikhar Dhawan tucks it to the leg side for one.

Tossed up, outside off. Shreyas Iyer reaches out and drives through covers for a single.

Shakib fires it in on the pads. The ball stays low and it goes through Iyer's legs as he looks to pull it hard.

Quicker ball, down leg. Shreyas Iyer looks to heave it away but he misses and gets hit on his pads.

A half-tracker, outside off. Shikhar Dhawan pulls it along the ground towards deep mid-wicket for one.

Change. Shakib Al Hasan (3-0-24-0) to bowl out here.

Length ball, on off. Worked to mid-wicket.

Length ball, on off. Blocked out.

In the air....safe! Length ball, on off. Iyer looks to whip it away but gets the top edge. The ball goes over cover. The man in the deep gets to his right and the man from cover chases it but the ball lands safely. Two taken.

Shreyas Iyer walks out to bat.

OUT! BOWLED! Mavi gets the wicket and Stoinis shakes his head while walking back! Length ball, on middle and leg. Stoinis backs away to the leg side to cut it away. But gets the toe end of the bat and the ball crashes back on the stumps. This is a key moment in the game and Kolkata would look to strangle the batters further here.

Short of a length, outside off. Shikhar Dhawan looks to cut but gets the outside edge to third man for one.

Length ball, outside off. Dhawan comes down the track and toe-ends it back to the bowler.

Shivam Mavi (1-0-3-0) comes back into the attack.

Shorter ball, outside off. Shikhar Dhawan slaps it to deep point for one.

Darted on the pads. Tucked past mid-wicket for one.

NOT OUT! Tossed up, around leg. Stoinis looks to heave it across the line but misses. Karthik whips the bails off and the TV umpire is called in. The replays show Stoinis had dragged his foot outside the crease. But he gets it back in just before the bails are taken off.

A stumping decision has been sent upstairs. Marcus Stoinis has his back foot grounded and it is NOT OUT!

Darted outside off. Punched to short cover.

Tossed up, on leg. Marcus Stoinis paddles it towards fine leg. The fielder gets to his right and keeps it down to a couple.

Fuller ball, on off. Swept away to deep square leg for one.

Tossed up, on off. Dhawan comes down the track and pushes it to long off for one.

Loopy ball, on off. Marcus Stoinis chips it towards long off for a single.

Flatter ball, outside off. Pushed to deep point for one.

FOUR! Dhawan gets a much-needed boundary for his team! Tossed up, outside off. He gets low and sweeps it between wide long on and deep mid-wicket for a boundary.

Good footwork by Venkatesh Iyer! Dhawan comes down the track and smacks it down the ground. Iyer runs across from long on and stops the ball with his feet. The man from long off gets across and throws it back. Two taken.

Tossed up, on off. Pushed down to long off for one.

Varun Chakravarthy (1-0-2-1) comes back to bowl.

Tossed up, on leg. Pushed down to long on for one. Just 3 from the over.

Shorter ball, outside off. Dhawan pushes it past point for one.

Tossed up, outside off. Dhawan looks to cut it away but misses.

Shorter ball, outside off. Dhawan looks to work it away but gets the inside edge to short fine leg.

Flatter ball, around off. Dhawan looks to whip it away but gets the inside edge back on the pads.

Flatter ball, on middle. Marcus Stoinis backs away and cuts it past covers for one.

Strategic Time-Out! This has been a decent start by Delhi. Yes, they have lost Shaw but a run rate of 6.5 here is good enough to start things. They would now hope to build a solid platform so the likes of Pant and Hetmyer can tee off in the death overs. But the next stage of the game will see Morgan using his spinners in tandem and they have been in sensational form. This should be an exciting contest.

Back of a length, outside off. Marcus Stoinis hangs back and cuts it towards sweeper cover. The batters take a single. Just 3 runs off the over!

Short of a length, outside off. Marcus Stoinis punches it towards cover off the back foot.

Wide! Mavi errs in line and sprays this one way down leg. Marcus Stoinis lets it be. Wide called by the umpire.

Back of a length, outside off. Marcus Stoinis rocks back and defends it towards cover.

Well bowled! Length ball, jagging back in from middle. Marcus Stoinis turns it to mid on.

Good-length ball, on off. Marcus Stoinis defends it to cover.

Good-length ball, on the pads. Shikhar Dhawan taps it towards mid-wicket and takes a quick run.

Flatter and quicker, around middle and leg. Shikhar Dhawan works it wide of mid on to collect a run.

A tad short, around middle. Marcus Stoinis lofts it towards long on for a single.

Quicker ball, down leg. Shikhar Dhawan tucks it to the leg side for one.

Flatter ball, on off. Marcus Stoinis drills it to long off for a single.

FOUR! Lovely shot! Tossed up, around off. Marcus Stoinis carves it over cover for a boundary.

TWO WIDE! A stumping chance has gone begging! Shakib Al Hasan sees Dhawan advancing down the track, he fires it down leg. Dinesh Karthik reaches out but fails to collect the ball cleanly. The batters cross over.

Flatter ball, around off. Marcus Stoinis looks to cut but he gets an inside edge and the ball goes to the left of the keeper for a run.

Shakib Al Hasan is back on. He went for 13 in his first two overs.

Good-length ball, on middle and leg. Stoinis tucks it to the leg side and collects a single. Delhi are 38/1 at the end of the Powerplay.

Length ball, jagging back in from middle. Shikhar Dhawan flicks it to square leg to rotate the strike.

Good-length ball, outside off. Shikhar Dhawan skips down to slog but the ball keeps low and goes past Dhawan's blade.

BEATEN! Good-length ball, angling in from outside off. Shikhar Dhawan stays back to cut but he misses as the ball zips past his outside edge.

Short of a length, outside off. Marcus Stoinis miscues his pull wide of mid-wicket for one.

Back of a length, around off. Shikhar Dhawan hangs back and taps it towards backward point for a quick run.

Lockie Ferguson is back on. He went for 5 in his first over.

A tad short, around off. Shikhar Dhawan stays back and pushes it to long on for a run. Just 2 runs and a wicket off the over!

Tossed up, around off. Shikhar Dhawan defends it out off the front foot.

Quicker ball, around middle and leg. Marcus Stoinis tucks it to the leg side to get off the mark with a single.

Flatter ball, around off. Marcus Stoinis works it to mid off, off the back foot.

Flatter ball, on off. Marcus Stoinis punches it to cover.

Marcus Stoinis walks out to bat now. It has been a while since he walked out on the field.

OUT! LBW! Varun Chakravarthy strikes on his first ball and gets the much-needed breakthrough for Kolkata. A googly, around off, turning in sharply. Prithvi Shaw prods to block this one but he misses and gets rapped in front. Varun Chakravarthy puts in an appeal and the umpire raises his finger. Shaw has a word with Dhawan but does not review it. The replay shows that the ball was going on to hit the leg stump and that was a good decision by the umpire.

Change. Varun Chakravarthy comes in the attack now.

Full and on middle. Dhawan defends it back to the bowler. Delhi have been on the attack against the spinners. Narine gives away 14 runs off his first over.

Flatter and on the pads. Shaw clips it to mid-wicket for a single.

Floated, full and outside off. Dhawan pushes it through covers for a single.

SIX! Back-to-back maximums. Dhawan is in his groove now. Tossed up, full and on off. Dhawan gets low and slog-sweeps it over the square leg fence.

SIX! BOOM! Dhawan capitalizes on the full toss. Full toss, on off. Dhawan gets on one knee and powers it over the square leg fence for a maximum.

CLOSE! Tossed up, full and outside off. Dhawan looks to drive it away but misses.

Change. Sunil Narine comes on now.

A dot to end the over! Full and on off. Shaw gets low and sweeps it to square leg but there is a man there. A good over for Delhi and they get 12 runs off it.

Finally Dhawan is off the mark. Floated, full and on off. Dhawan gets low and sweeps it through square leg for a single.

On off, pushed to mid off for a single.

Full and on off. Shaw sweeps it to square leg.

FOUR! SMACKED! Flatter and outside off. Shaw hangs back and cuts it past point for a boundary.

SIX! BANG! Shaw gets the first maximum of the game. At the other end, Dhawan is struggling but here, Shaw continues on his merry way. Tossed up, on middle. Shaw comes down the track and smokes it over the wide long on fence.

Dhawan's struggle continues. A length ball, around off. The ball nips in. Dhawan hangs back and looks to defend it out but misses. He gets rapped on the pads. Ferguson appeals but the umpire is unmoved. Going down leg probably.

Swing and a miss! Dhawan is struggling here. He is yet to get off the mark. Good length and outside off. Dhawan skips down the track and looks to cut it away but misses. The ball bounces over the blade.

BEATEN! Beautifully bowled by Lockie Ferguson. Good-length ball, outside off. Dhawan hangs back and looks to push it away but misses. The ball beats the outside edge.

A single now! A length ball, on the pads. Shaw tucks it to mid-wicket and gets a single.

BEATEN! Good reply by Lockie Ferguson. A length ball, outside off. The ball nips in a bit. Shaw hops and looks to push it to the off side but misses.

FOUR! Shaw gets the first boundary of the game with a glorious drive. Full length and outside off. Shaw leans into it and carves it through covers for a boundary.

Who will start from the other end? Time for some pace as Lockie Ferguson is set to steam in.

Make it 4. What a start by Shakib Al Hasan. Floated, full and on off. Dhawan defends it back to the bowler. Just 1 run off the over.

Full and on off. Dhawan defends it onto the pitch. Three dots on the trot now!

Flatter and on middle. Dhawan defends it to mid-wicket.

Loopy ball, on off. Dhawan defends it to short mid-wicket.

Shaw and Delhi are off the mark. Slightly short and outside off. Shaw stays on the back foot and cuts it to the left of point. Nitish Rana there dives to his left to make a half-stop. The batters cross.

Flatter and short, outside off. Shaw cuts it to point.

We are set for the clash! The umpires stride out to the middle. Eoin Morgan leads his side on the field. Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw walk out to bat for Delhi. Dinesh Karthik has his helmet on and is standing up as Shakib Al Hasan is going to start with the ball. Here we go...

Rishabh Pant, the skipper of Delhi, says that they would have bowled first too but there is no point in thinking over the toss too much. Informs Marcus Stoinis comes in for Tom Curran. Ends by saying that the players are in the right frame of mind and hopes that the guys enjoy out on the field.

Eoin Morgan, the skipper of Kolkata, says that they will bowl first. Mentions they have played a couple of games in Sharjah and that has worked for them before. Adds, there are no changes to the side. Also says, he hopes there is a bit of an advantage with them, but against this Delhi side, it should be a test. Mentions in the UAE leg, his players have played with fire and have put on a great show.

Kolkata (Unchanged Playing XI) - Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy.

Delhi (Playing XI) - Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (C/WK), Marcus Stoinis (In for Tom Curran), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje.

TOSS UPDATE - Eoin Morgan and Rishabh Pant are at the middle for the all-important toss. The coin lands in favour of Morgan and Kolkata have elected to BOWL first.

PITCH REPORT - Ian Bishop is down for the pitch report. He says that it is very pleasant and cool out there. Adds that the highest score on this surface is 156 and it was made by Bangalore, but teams after that have not been able to cross 132. Matthew Hayden says that batting here should be a mix of playing fearlessly and sensibly. Adds that scoring 50 runs in the Powerplay is what the batters should target. Says that spinners will play a big role in this game and it will get challenging to score runs once the ball gets old.

Kolkata have been the comeback kings of the season and they are familiar with the Sharjah conditions, as they ended Bangalore’s hunt in the Eliminator. Kolkata have also won all the games while chasing in UAE and would likely hope to repeat that if they chase here again. In their last game, Sunil Narine was back to his best form and caused a lot of trouble to the opposition with both the bat and the ball. Also, on paper, it looks like they have a deep batting lineup, which was seen in their last game when Shakib Al Hasan and Eoin Morgan kept their calm and got Kolkata over the line.

Delhi reached the finals for the first time last season in 2020. But they could not get over the line against Mumbai. Although, they have been a dominant side in this season of the Indian T20 League. They topped the league stage with 20 points and would be eager to move an inch closer to their maiden trophy win. Although, Delhi are coming into this game on the back of two consecutive defeats. They still remain a very strong team.

Hello and a warm welcome to all! It is time for Qualifier 2 in the Indian T20 League. In this game, Delhi will be locking horns against Kolkata. With Qualifier 2 comes the pressure and the fear of not being able to notch the last ticket to the final. Delhi had an opportunity to make it to the finale but they slipped against Chennai which is why they feature in this game. Kolkata, on the other hand, have certainly revived in the UAE leg of the competition. No one would have thought they would make it so far, but they have beaten all the odds. This game should be no less than a cracker. Stay tuned for toss and team updates.

... MATCH DAY ...