Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Match number 66 of the Indian Premier League will go down in the tournament's history books as one of the most exciting thriller contests. Quinton de Kock notched up a sensational 140 in 70 deliveries and stitched a record first-wicket partnership with KL Rahul to post 210 on board in the first innings. In response, Kolkata's middle-order stepped up as Nitish Rana, and Shreyas Iyer added quick runs and kept KKR in the hunt.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer too chipped in with his 29 balls fifty, but Rinku Singh and Sunil Narine (21 off 7) combined to take the chase to the last over. While Kolkata needed 22 runs in the last over, Rinku smashed Marcus Stoinis for 4, 6, 6 and 2 to bring the arithmetic to 2 off 3. But, Evan Lewis' incredible one-handed beauty dismissed Rinku Singh (40 off 15) and ended the hopes of Kolkata. With three required of the final ball, Stoinis cleaned up Umesh Yadav as KKR fell short by two runs in the end.
While Kolkata bowlers returned with no wicket, Lucknow's Mohsin Khan and Marcus Stoinis picked three wickets each in the second innings. Let's look at the points table after match number 66 in IPL 2022.
Changes in the points table
With that thrilling last-over win, Lucknow has secured the second spot in the points table and became the second team to qualify for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders' campaign ended with that loss as they could only manage to score 12 points after 14 games.
What did the captains say?
KL Rahul was the happy captain at the end as he confessed that the match could have gone the other way. However, Rahul lauded De Kock, Stoinis, and Mohsin Khan for making valuable contributions in the game and pulling off for the side. The skipper also congratulated Kolkata for putting out such an incredible chase. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer was not disappointed and was happy to see such an outstanding effort from his players.
"That was one of the best games of cricket I have played. The way we showed our character and attitude were simply outstanding. I love the way Rinku got us till the end but unfortunately couldn't time it when two balls were remaining; he was really sad," he concluded.
Today's matchup
Royal Challengers Bangalore will lock horns with mighty Gujarat Titans on May 19 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While Gujarat has already qualified for the playoffs, Bangalore will have the last chance to register a comprehensive win to improve its net run rate.