New Delhi: An all-round performance from Sunil Narine (four wickets and 15-ball 26 runs) powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a four-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator match of IPL 2021 on Monday. KKR will now lock horns with Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday and the winner of this match will face three-time champions Chennai Super Kings in the final on October 15.
Batting first after winning the toss, Bangalore scored 138/7, which Kolkata chased down in the last over of their innings after losing six wickets with two balls to spare. RCB vs KKR eliminator was Virat Kohli's last match in IPL as captain. Under Virat's captaincy, Bangalore won 66 of 140 IPL matches and lost 70.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) yet again missed winning the IPL trophy. After end of RCB's journey in IPL 2021, Virat took to Twitter to thank all the fans, team management and support staff.
"Not the result we wanted but I am so proud of the character shown by the boys throughout the tournament. A disappointing end but we can hold our heads high. Thank you to all the fans, management & the support staff for your constant support," Virat wrote on Twitter.
During the post-match presentation, Virat made it clear that he will continue to play for Bangalore in next season.
"I’ve tried my best to create a culture where youngsters could come in and play expressive cricket, play with belief. That’s something I've tried to do in the India team level as well. All I can say is that I have given my best. I don’t know how the response of that has been but I can vouch for the fact that I have given my 120% to this franchise every year leading the team and I will continue to give that effort on the field, as a player from now on," he said.