A thumping victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday all but confirmed the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) qualification to the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs. The win keeps KKR in fourth spot but significatly boosts their net run rate, making it nearly impossible for the Mumbai Indians (MI) to leapfrog the two-time champions.
Mumbai will now need to defeat the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by at least 171 runs when the two sides meet in Abu Dhabi on Friday. The defending champions will be automatically out of contention for the playoffs if they are set to chase against SRH.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) also recorded a consolation win against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday, with skipper KL Rahul scoring an unbeaten 98 to end his season on a good note and extend his lead in the race for the Orange Cap.
Two games remain in the group stage, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) taking on table-toppers Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dubai, while Mumbai take on SRH in Abu Dhabi. Both games will be held simultaneously.
Currently, the table is led by Delhi with 20 points from 13 matches, two more than Chennai in second. Bangalore (16) and the Kolkata (14) follow in third and fourth.
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Here is the IPL 2021 points table after the two games on Thursday:
IPL 2021 Orange Cap:
With his unbeaten 42-ball, 98-run knock against CSK on Thursday, PBKS captain KL Rahul reclaimed the the Orange Cap. Rahul’s total for the season stands at 626, with CSK’s Faf du Plessis in second with 546 runs, with his teammate Ruturaj Gaikwad in third with 533 runs. DC’s Shikhar Dhawan and RR skipper Sanju Samson round off the top-five list with 501 and 484 runs respectively.
IPL 2021 Purple Cap
RCB’s Harshal Patel has set a new record for the most wickets in a season for an Indian and is also on top of the Purple Cap standings with 29 scalps in 13 matches so far. Delhi’s Avesh Khan is second with 22 wickets, with Mumbai’s Jasprit Bumrah and Punjab’s Mohammed Shami tied on third with 19 each. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh and Shardul Thakur are joint-fifth with 18 scalps each.
