IPL Cricket: Kolkata Knight Riders to face off Kings XI Punjab at Sharjah today

In IPL Cricket, Rajasthan Royals’ eight-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians at Dubai has shattered Chennai Super Kings’ hopes of sealing a late playoff berth. This is the first time in the history of IPL that three time champions Chennai failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Opting to bat first, Mumbai posted a gigantic score of 195 for 5 in 20 overs against Rajasthan with the help of Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 60 from 21 balls and Suryakumar Yadav’s 40 off 26.

In reply, Rajasthan overhauled the target with 10 balls to spare riding on Ben Stokes’ 107 off 60 and Sanju Samson’s 54 off 31. Both the batsmen stitched an unbeaten 152-run stand for the 3rd wicket. For Mumbai, Pattinson scalped both the wickets.

Earlier yesterday, Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 wickets at Dubai. Chasing a target of 146 runs, Chennai made 150 runs for 2 wickets with 8 balls to spare. Electing to bat first, Bangalore scored 145 runs for 6 wickets in 20 stipulated overs.

Rajasthan now have 10 points in their bag as they have won five out of their 12 games. Chennai are placed at the bottom of the points table, with just four wins in 12 matches.

Today, Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns with Kings XI Punjab at Sharjah.