Fans were left reeling with excitement as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) sealed a thrilling final over win against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 2 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, on Wednesday. Chasing a target of 136 runs, KKR reached 136 for seven in 19.5 overs, with Rahul Tripathi slamming the winning boundary. Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund led the reactions on Twitter and also hailed Tripathi for maintaining his calm.
Mukund tweeted, "0,1,1,W,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,W,2,0,1,0,0,W,1,0,W,W,SIX! What a finish! I did not see that coming!@Avesh_6 @AnrichNortje02 @KagisoRabada25 @ashwinravi99 almost pulled off an incredible heist! Kudos to @tripathirahul52 for keeping his calm!"
Earlier, Delhi had posted 135 for five in 20 overs with opener Shikhar Dhawan smashing 36 in 39 balls. Varun Chakaravarthy was in fantastic form for Kolkata, taking two wickets in his four overs.
Meanwhile during the chase, Kagiso Rabada and Ravichandran Ashwin turned the tide towards DC's side with some quick wickets during the death overs. The South African pacer dismissed Dinesh Karthik for a three-ball duck. Ashwin took the wickets of Shakib Al Hasan (0) and Sunil Narine (0) in the final over.
Kuldeep Yadav and Pat Cummins also passed on their wishes to the KKR players.
Another fan called it a "crazy finish" and also directed his attention towards the closeness of the victory. "A crazy sequence... 0,1,1,W,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,W,2,0,1,0,0,W,1,0,W,W,SIX! What a crazy finish... how does a team do that... DC stayed in it... nerves played their part but in the end, Tripathi won it for KKR", he wrote.
Here are the other reactions:
The Eoin Morgan-led side will now face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2021 final on Friday, at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.