Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan attributed the team's massive reversal in fortunes in the second leg of IPL-14 to his bowlers' aggressive approach.
Rajneesh Gupta previews Game 17 in IPL 12: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders.
Had Andre Russell's dismissal not been overturned, the outcome could have been different for Kings XI.
Sunil Narine turned in a superb show with the ball as the West Indies beat New Zealand by 20 runs in the fifth and final One-day International in Basseterre (Saint Kitts and Nevis) on Monday.
Chasing a challenging 188 set by KKR, Raina led from the front with a blistering 46-ball 84-run knock to set the platform for the much-needed win for Gujarat Lions.
The semi-final door was virtually shut on defending champions Chennai Super Kings as they lost the crunch Champions League Twenty20 Group A clash by 12 runs to Trinidad and Tobago, in Chennai on Sunday.
For a team that looked at ease all along, it was their first defeat in the UAE leg -- and three from 11 matches this season -- as Delhi struggled to get going against KKR bowlers who made full use of the slow surface after opting to bowl.
A look at how the teams stack up ahead of the mega auction.
Andre Russell's second consecutive blistering knock made all the difference as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 28 runs in the IPL match IN Kolkata on Wednesday. The Jamacian, who hit a sensational 19-ball 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in KKR's previous match, bludgeoned his way to a 17-ball 48 to propel the home side to a massive 218 for 4 after being sent in to bat.
Sunil Narine might be out with a suspected bowling action but Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Robin Uthappa feels he will come back stronger.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan has hailed his bowlers as 'superstars' of the team, saying their outstanding performance in the first two games of the second leg of IPL in the UAE has allowed the openers to play with freedom.
With his side failing to chase a modest 135 to win, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir on Sunday warned of making drastic changes to the side if seniors fail to perform again.
Shubman Gill's knock was studded with two sixes and five fours.
KKR bowlers never let any SRH batsman get comfortable in the middle and that reflected on the scorecard.
It will be a crucial couple of weeks for Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey, who are back in the mix after being sidelined from India's 50-over World Cup plans.
West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has hit out at selectors for ignoring him and several other players for the tri-series against Australia and South Africa. Bravo along with Andre Russell, Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle haven't been selected for the series, as they are no longer contracted with the West Indies Cricket Board. WI selectors have included Keiron Pollard and Sunil Narine, who had missed out from the World T20 due to injury but have ignored these stars from the champion team. "Joke of the day: WI selectors one minute Pollard & Narine were not good enough & now are perfect for Tri Nation series? It's like magic!," he tweeted.
Kolkata Knight Riders players and support staff had their first hangout at the team hotel in Abu Dhabi on Monday evening after spending more than a week in quarantine in their hotel rooms.
Swashbuckling opener David Warner butchered the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers with a whirlwind century to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing 48-run victory, in their Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
IMAGES from the match between KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad played at Eden Gardens on Saturday
Jos Buttler is still the front-runner to be this IPL's MVP. He still has at least two matches to play and one big knock will win it for him. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players after the end of the 70 league matches in IPL 2022.
Cleared by International Cricket Council of suspect bowling action West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine would be more dangerous and confident in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Virat Kohli's tenure as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore may have ended without an IPL triumph but the franchise will nonetheless 'celebrate' his contributions over the years, said the team's pacer Harshal Patel.
Their fate hanging in balance, a loss in the penultimate league round match may virtually sound the death knell for one of the two teams.
Hosts Kolkata Knight Riders run the risk of slipping away when they face resurgent defending champions and 'nemesis' Mumbai Indians in an IPL clash, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have left themselves with little margin for error after a string of reverses, will face a test of character when they clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Delhi Daredevils face a herculean task to revive their IPL campaign when they clash with Kolkata Knight Riders
The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League will commence, on Saturday, April 7 and will end on 27th May
Table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and a transformed Kings XI Punjab cross swords in an Indian Premier League contest in which big-hitting Jamaicans Andre Russell and Chris Gayle will be up against each other in Kolkata on Saturday.
BCCI on Thursday cleared Sunil Narine's action after giving him a final warning.
West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo says he had "sent a message" to Chris Gayle as he was making a mockery of the Sri Lankan attack, telling the opener to try and go for a bonus-point win in the first match of the Tri-nation One-Day series in Kingston, Jamaica.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Opener Prithvi Shaw smashed six fours in the first over in a stunning batting display on his way to a blistering 82 as Delhi Capitals crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets in the IPL, in Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
A concession has been made in allowing players to train after six days as long as they remain inside the team bubble.
KKR have so far failed to come together as a unit and slipped to sixth in the table after starting the tournament on a high against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Morgan's astute captaincy in using his bowling resources was the highlight as KKR had bowled out MI for a modest 152.
Sri Lanka pace veteran Lasith Malinga on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after terrorising the world's best batsmen for over a decade and a half with his toe-crushing yorkers delivered from a low and distinct sling-arm action.
Maverick batsman Chris Gayle opted out of the ODI and T20 series against India citing personal reasons as the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) named three fresh faces for the assignment.
KKR are heading into the contest after an embarrassing batting performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The BCCI has set a salary cap of Rs 90 crore for 10 IPL franchises, including the two new entrants, for the next season and allowed a maximum of four retentions for the eight established teams.
Morgan said they have a good bench strength this season to deal with the challenges of injury and illness.
