Indian Premier League

KKR dominated the final, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets after stifling them with an excellent bowling display in the first innings.

Russell took three wickets as SRH were limited to just 113 runs before KKR surged to the win with 57 balls remaining.

Asked how he was feeling after such a strong performance, Russell told reporters: "No words to explain right now.

"It means so much with all the fans that have been supporting us throughout the season. We are the players who go game after game and make sure that we get the job done. And it's the first time we're actually celebrating our victory and I think it's the right moment.

"I'm happy that all of us, we are very disciplined and want the same goal. This franchise has done so much for me, with the fitness and everything. This is a big gift from all of us to them, so I'm happy."

To Star Sports, he added: "I'm kind of lost for words, emotions is all over. It's my first final for KKR and to get three wickets as well, it means a lot to me, and all the bowlers did their job.

"I just mentioned to [Mitchell Starc], I said, 'Hey, big man, you saved the best for last,' and I'm happy with that because he started on the rough side and I kept feeling that he's still a world-class bowler, he doesn't take a few bad games to decide the destiny."

Nitish Rana quickly turned the focus to Gautam Gambhir's work in leading KKR to the title, saying: "When Gautam Gambhir was signed as our mentor, I had congratulated him on WhatsApp.

"I wrote a long message to him, and he thanked me, but he also said he'll be the happiest when we'll lift the trophy at the podium. Today is that day and I'll remember that message forever."

KKR needed a win at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday to keep themselves in contention for a top-four finish and they delivered under pressure.

Russell blasted 49 off 28 balls to get the Knight Riders up to 177-6 in Pune, where hostile paceman Umran Malik gave another exhibition of his quality by taking 3-33.

Sunrisers fell well short at 123-8 in their run chase as their play-off hopes suffered a blow, with this their fifth consecutive defeat.

Malik halted KKR's momentum by dismissing Nitish Rana (26) and Ajinkya Rahane (28) in the same over, reducing them to 72-3 after eight overs.

He also had Shreyas Iyer caught by Rahul Tripathi at deep midwicket, but Sam Billings got Kolkata ticking with 34 and unbeaten Russell struck four sixes - three of which came in the final over from Washington Sundar - in a much-need display of powerful striking.

All-rounder Russell (3-22) then cleaned an out-of-sorts Kane Williamson up for only nine and Tim Southee (2-23) took an excellent catch off his own bowling to send Tripathi on his way for the same score as his captain.

Abhishek Sharma made a brisk 43 and Aiden Markram 32, but Russell took another two wickets as Sunrisers' slump continued and they slipped to eighth spot with two games to play, while sixth-placed KKR face Lucknow Super Giants as they strive to sneak into the play-offs.

Malik back in business

Sunrisers quick Malik has been a revelation in this tournament and made his mark once again after failing to take a wicket in three matches following his five-wicket haul against Gujarat Titans.

The 22-year-old has claimed 18 scalps in the 2022 IPL at an average of 22 and there will surely be many more to come in such a promising career.

Russell keeps KKR in the mix

So many times over the years Russell has stepped up when his side have needed him.

He gave KKR a huge lift by taking Sundar apart in the last over of KKR's innings and then did the bulk of the damage with the ball, dismissing Williamson, Sundar and Marco Jansen.

In the second game of the campaign for the Kolkatta Knight Riders, Russell cleaned up the Mumbai Indians' tail for career-best figures of 5-15.  In the same match, however, the player was unable to finish the job with the bat as the Knight Riders slumped to a dramatic 10-run defeat as Russell added 9 from 15.

Vaughan pointed to the batsman’s work in the field and running between the crease as evidence the big hitter is not quite at his best.

“You got a player like Andre Russell, who has been a superstar, but on the field, when the ball is coming to him, he is always using his feet. He is obviously someone who cannot go down. It’s a very clever and careful aspect which Eoin Morgan will have to manage,” Vaughan told Cricbuzz.

“When he (Andre Russell) is at his best, he is great. But when you see him on the field, and when is bowling, he appears to be struggling. While batting he is not taking the twos,” he added.

“He needed to take the twos in the 19th over. Because you want him back on strike. Very difficult to manage for Brendon McCullum and Eoin Morgan.”

The Knight Riders have won 1 of their first 3 matches.

The former West Indies captain, 36, played for Sunrisers between 2013 and 2014 and says he will be questioning his former team-mates over the "degrading" jibe.

Sammy's comments come amid the Black Lives Matter movement, which has seen anti-racism protests around the world following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

He wrote in an Instagram story on Saturday: "Oh so that's what that meant when they called me and Thisara Perera Kalu in India when we played for Sunrisers. 

"I just thought they were calling me strong black man - I’m more piss now."

He added: "I just learnt what that kalu meant. When I played for Sunrisers in the IPL, they called me and Perera by that name. 

"I thought it meant strong Stallion. My previous post tells me something different and I am angry."

Sammy followed up with social media posts and a video on Monday, writing: "Knowledge is power. So recently I discovered a word that I was being called was not what it actually meant I need some answers. 

"So before I start calling out names I need these individuals to reach out and please tell me there's another meaning to that word and when I was being called it, it was all in love."

He added hashtags titled blackandproud, blackandconfident, clarasboy, saynotoracism, stopracism, cricketer and stlucia.

Sammy continued: "I was listening to Hasan Minhaj talking about how some of the people in his culture view or describe black people.

"Instantly I remembered when I played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 and 2014, I was being called the exact same word that he described.

"I will be messaging those people - you guys know who you are. I must admit, at the time in which I was being called that, I did not know what it meant. 

"Me being a team man, I thought, hey, team-mates are happy, it must be something funny. You can understand my frustration and my anger when it was pointed out to me that it wasn't funny at all, it was degrading.

"So, I'm going to be texting you guys, and asking you guys, when you repeatedly called me that word over and over again to the point that I was even saying that's my name, did you all mean it in any way, shape or form as a degrading word to me.

"Reach out to me, let's have a conversation. Because, if it was in any way, shape or form what Minhaj said it meant, I'm very disappointed, and I'll still be angry, and deserve an apology from you guys, because I saw all of you guys as my brothers.

"So, talk to me, reach out to me, please clear the air."

Two of his team-mates in that period, Irfan Pathan and Parvez Rasool, have insisted they have no knowledge of the word being used.

"If something like that would have happened then it would have come to notice or a team discussion would have happened on the topic," Pathan told the Indian Express.

"I am not aware of any such incident and he [Sammy] has to take responsibility for his comments. 

"But I have seen some issues in domestic cricket. I think the real issue is education and society needs to learn."

Rasool added: "I never noticed anything like this. Sammy was my captain for one match during the season but he never told me anything like that.

"As a team, we had a very healthy environment and were a happy bunch of cricketers." 

Dhoni took over as CSK captain once again after Ravindra Jadeja – who is sidelined with a rib injury – stepped down following just over a month in the role.

India great Dhoni led by example with an unbeaten 36 on Thursday, but the defending champions were skittled out for only 97 from 16 overs, with no other batter making more than 12.

Daniel Sams spearheaded the Indians' bowling attack with 3-16 from his four overs - two of those wickets coming in the first over.

Ishan Kishan fell cheaply as Mumbai's chase started poorly, with Mukesh Choudhary (3-23) drawing an edge and Dhoni taking the catch.

Dhoni caught his counterpart Rohit Sharma (18) from a Simarjeet Singh delivery in the fourth over, before Sams fell to Choudhary, who then sent Tristan Stubbs packing for a duck.

Yet Hrithik Shokeen and Tilak Varma steadied the ship, and although the former was bowled out by Moeen Ali, Varma's 34 not out set Mumbai well on their way, with two sixes from Tim David (16 not out) ensured the Indians got home with 31 balls to spare.

Super Kings unable to make a case for the defence

CSK had four wins from their last seven matches in the IPL prior to Thursday's meeting. However, this is the first season in which CSK have failed to register consecutive wins so far and that run rolled on as they were convincingly beaten.

With only two games to play, the defending champions have no chance of finishing in the top four.

Indians bring up 20 against CSK

Mumbai have now won 20 of their 34 IPL meetings with CSK. Indeed, the Super Kings have lost more times against the Indians than they have any other team in the competition. This was only a third win of the tournament for Mumbai.

CSK kicked off the IPL's 13th season with a five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians, however, they were comfortably second best on Tuesday in Sharjah.

Samson and captain Smith laid the foundation for Rajasthan with a second-wicket partnership of 121 as they set CSK a target of 217.

Had CSK triumphed it would have marked the highest successful chase in IPL history.

However, they never came close to doing so despite an opening partnership of 56 between Shane Watson and Murali Vijay and a powerful 37-ball 72 from Faf du Plessis.

Three sixes in the final over from MS Dhoni saw the record for most maximums in an IPL match tied as the teams combined for 33.

A comfortable Rajasthan success did not appear on the cards when opener Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for six in the third over.

But Samson (74) and Smith (69) tipped the balance of the contest firmly in favour of Rajasthan.

Samson was in destructive form as he bludgeoned the CSK attack, a four and nine sixes marking a devastating 32-ball stay at the crease.

Lungi Ngidi dismissed Samson when a wide delivery outside off was hit to deep cover and David Miller was run out for a duck two balls later.

Smith held the innings together until he fell with 10 balls remaining, with Jofra Archer then adding the finishing touches as he struck Ngidi for four successive sixes - including two off no-balls - in a final over that went for 30.

Rahul Tewatia dealt with the dangerous Watson, whose 33 comprised of four sixes, sending a delivery crashing into his leg stump.

Shreyas Gopal removed Murali (21) five balls later before Tewatia had Sam Curran and Ruturaj Gaikwad stumped in successive deliveries.

Kedar Jadhav's (22) exit left an unlikely fightback on the shoulders of the experienced duo of Du Plessis and Dhoni.

Du Plessis did the heavy lifting in spectacular fashion, with three sixes in the 17th over giving CSK faint hope that was snuffed out when an Archer bouncer did him for pace.

Smith shows his class

Smith returned from a head injury suffered during Australia's recent limited-overs tour of England and did so in fine fashion, scoring his first half-century in any format since February.

Archer adds crucial runs

Archer's incredible final-over contribution made sure a mammoth total was out of reach for CSK and he then produced a brilliant bouncer to remove the in-form Du Plessis and put the contest to bed.

Seamer Siraj claiming incredible figures of 3-8 off four overs as KKR could only post a pitiful 84-8 from their 20 overs in a one-sided Indian Premier League match at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Kolkata's total was the lowest from the full complement of overs in an IPL game without a team getting bowled out and Siraj's figures were the most economical in the tournament this year.

Siraj was the first to bowl two maidens in an IPL innings, while Yuzvendra Chahal claimed 2-15 and captain Eoin Morgan (30) was one of only four KKR batsmen to make double figures.

RCB needed just 13.3 overs to reach their target in Abu Dhabi and go second in the table, level on points with leaders Delhi Capitals. 

Lockie Ferguson was the Knight Riders' only wicket-taker, getting Aaron Finch caught behind after Devdutt Padikkal (25) was run out.

KKR never recovered from the magnificent Siraj taking two wickets in as many balls in the second over and remain in fourth spot.

SIRAJ STUNS KKR, TON UP FOR AB

Siraj had three wickets without conceding a run from two overs and was on a hat-trick after seeing the back of Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana.

Morgan's men were deep in the mire on 14-4 when Tom Banton was taken by AB de Villiers, who reached the 100 IPL catches landmark.

KKR never got going, Morgan scoring half of their six fours as the RCB bowlers gave little away, bowling 72 dot balls in a strange innings.

KOHLI ON A ROLL

RCB unsurprisingly made easy work of putting KKR out of their misery, getting home at a canter.

An unbroken stand of 39 between Gurkeerat Singh (21) and Virat Kohli (18) sealed it, the skipper maintaining his excellent form after a slow start to the competition.

The India captain has scored 329 runs since the beginning of this month, averaging a mammoth 109.7. He has also racked up 285 in his last four knocks versus KKR at an average of 142.5.

KL Rahul (74 from 56 balls) struck his first fifty of the season and become the fastest player to 4,000 IPL runs as the Super Giants posted 159-8 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. 

Raza (57 off 41) put the Kings on their way to victory, but a tense game was in the balance before Shahrukh (23 not out off 10) finished off the job with three balls to spare to make it three wins from five for his side and consign Lucknow to only a second loss.

Harpreet Brar removed Kyle Mayers (29) to end an opening stand of 53 with Rahul after Sam Curran, taking over as captain with Shikhar Dhawan out due to a shoulder injury, won the toss and opted to field.

The Super Giants were reduced to 111-4 in a 15th over from Kagiso Rabada in which Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran departed, but Rahul ticked along on a surface that was by no means the easiest to bat on. 

Rahul was finally removed by Arshdeep Singh in the penultimate over before Curran (3-31) struck twice in the last to keep Lucknow below 160.

Debutant Yudhvir Singh (2-19) struck an early blow in the run chase by getting Atharva Taide caught by Avesh Khan at third man in his first Kings over and also cleaned up Prabhsimran Singh.

Matthew Short (34) and Harpreet Singh (22) got starts but failed to go on and Curran fell cheaply trying to launch Ravi Bishnoi over the rope, but Raza was able to hang around and keep his side on course to reach their target.

Lucknow were scenting the win when Raza fell to Bishnoi and Mark Wood struck twice to set up a tense finish, but Shahrukh hit his first ball for six and won it with a four off Bishnoi in the final over

Rahul breaks another record

Lucknow skipper Rahul came to the party by anchoring the innings, reaching the 4,000 IPL runs landmark in record time.

The opener got there in his 105 innings, pushing Chris Gayle (112 knocks) down to second on the list of the quickest batters to hit that tally.

He got to his half-century in 40 balls, hitting a six and eight fours before falling to Arshdeep.

Raza rises to the occasion

Zimbabwe all-rounder Raza turns 37 this month and he showed all of his experience to show why he was given a first IPL chance by the Kings.

He hit three sixes and another four boundaries to reach his 50 from 34 balls and looked like being there at the end until Bishnoi ended his excellent knock.

According to ESPNCricinfo, the ECB pulled Wood, a centrally contracted player, out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload, with the T20 World Cup scheduled in June and England hosting West Indies and Sri Lanka for Tests in the home summer.

Recently, the ECB had prevented Jofra Archer from being a part of the IPL 2024 auction as it manages his comeback from injury leading up to the T20 World Cup.

Super Giants had signed Wood in the auction before the 2022 season for INR 7.50 crore. He, however, missed that season because of an elbow injury. In IPL 2023, Wood played four matches and picked up 11 wickets at an average of 11.82.

Joseph made his West Indies debut in the drawn series against Australia, dismissing Steven Smith with his first ball in Test cricket, in a game West Indies lost in Adelaide. He then became a worldwide phenomenon when he took a seven-wicket haul in the final innings despite an injured foot to give West Indies a dramatic eight-run win at the Gabba in the second Test. It was West Indies' first Test win in Australia since 1997.

Joseph had been signed by Dubai Capitals for the ongoing ILT20 season before West Indies' tour of Australia, but was subsequently ruled out because of the toe injury he suffered in the Brisbane Test when a Mitchell Starc yorker struck him. But his performance in Australia has since landed him a deal with Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, which starts on February 17.

While Joseph has just played two T20 games in his professional career, and doesn't have a wicket to show yet, West Indies white-ball coach Daren Sammy has indicated that Joseph could find a berth in the T20 World Cup squad, saying the fast bowler has "created a good headache" for the selectors.

Apart from Joseph, the Super Giants' fast-bowling line-up has Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, David Willey, Shivam Mavi, Yash Thakur and Yudhvir Singh. They also have allrounders Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers and India's Under-19 World Cupper Arshin Kulkarni, who can give them quite a few overs. Though just two seasons old in the IPL, Super Giants have been one of the best-performing teams, making the playoffs and finishing third both in 2022 and 2023.

Rinku Singh famously smashed five sixes in the last over to earn Kolkata victory the last time these sides met, but this time Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar took the acclaim as Gujarat cruised to their 180 target for a third straight win.

Gujarat won the toss and put Kolkata in to bat first, and after a 45-minute rain delay, Rahmanullah Gurbaz powered his way to 81 off just 39 deliveries to take the Knights Riders to 135 off 15.2 overs before he was caught at deep midwicket by Rashid Khan off Noor Ahmad's bowling.

Andre Russell (34 from 19) and Rinku (19 off 20) also chipped in with late cameos as Kolkata finished on 179/7, while Mohammed Shami (3-33) impressed with the ball for the Titans.

Gujarat's chase got off to a strong start thanks to Gill as he combined with Wriddhiman Saha (10 off 10) and captain Hardik Pandya (26 from 20) to take the Titans on the way to victory.

Gill (49) was eventually dismissed on the verge of his half-century when he skied Sunil Narine's delivery to Russell, but Shankar and David Miller (32 from 18) would finish the job with two overs remaining.

Kolkata's powerplay woes continue

The Knights Riders are the only team to concede at least 50 runs in all nine of their matches so far this season, an unwanted run that is the longest in IPL history.

Kolkata's batsmen are averaging a boundary every 4.8 balls, the most often of all IPL teams, but their bowlers again failed to live up to expectations as they fell to a fifth defeat in six matches.

Shankar haunts Kolkata again

Shankar's 51 off 24 balls made him the second non-opener to score two half-centuries against the Knight Riders in an IPL season after Suresh Raina in 2017.

The batsman has hit 10 sixes against Kolkata across both games, the joint third-highest in one season against the Knights Riders.

Chennai posted 154-7 from their 20 overs, with Moeen Ali top scoring with 48 runs, and the Sunrisers surpassed the target with 14 balls remaining to pick up their first win of the season.

Abhishek Sharma played a key role for the Sunrisers with 75 off 50 balls, while Kane Williamson (32), Rahul Tripathi (39 not out) and Nicholas Pooran (five no) also chipped in.

Put in to bat first, the Super Kings had lost the wickets of Robin Uthappa (15) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (16) within the powerplay, and their innings was rather stop-start throughout.

Moeen aside, the struggling defending champions could not find any rhythm as Thangarasu Natarajan (2-30) and Washington Sundar (2-21) helped restrict them to a gettable target.

Mukesh Choudhary gave the Super Kings hope when making a breakthrough with the wicket of Williamson, but Sharma cut down the gap between runs required and balls remaining.

The opener led the chase with a first IPL half-century before being dismissed in the 18th over, by which time he and Tripathi had already done much of the damage.

Tripathi finished off the run chase in style by hitting a four off Dwayne Bravo to get the Sunrisers off the mark for the campaign.

Sharma shakes it up

Sharma has come under pressure as an opener but more than delivered here, with his 75 runs consisting of five fours and three maximums.

He will be disappointed with the manner of his exit with just 10 runs required for victory, the young all-rounder caught by Chris Jordan when trying to hit a huge one.

Super Kings lose again

Defending champions CSK have lost their first four IPL matches for only the second time, with the other instance coming in 2010 when, impressively, they went on to win the title.

On the basis of their displays so far, it will take some doing to repeat that feat of 12 years ago.

India have suffered with maintaining the health of their pace options over the past few years, with players struggling to complete full tours.

Deepak Chahar is the latest India seamer to be sidelined, after suffering a left hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League game between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

Players are rehabilitated at the BCCI's National Cricket Academy, but Shastri has now questioned just how effective the team's recovery methods are, given their high turnover of problems.

"Let's put it this way: there are quite a few in the last three or four years who are permanent residents of the NCA," Shastri told ESPN's T20 Time:Out.

"Soon, they'll get a resident permit there to walk in any time they want, which is not a good thing at all. It's unreal.

"You're not playing that much cricket to be injured again and again. If you are going to come back, make sure you get fit and come once and for all because it's frustrating not just for the team, the players, the BCCI, the captains of the various franchises.

"I can understand a serious injury, but every four games when someone touches his hamstring or someone touches his groin, you start thinking what are these guys training. Some of them don't play any other cricket. It's ridiculous.

Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Mohsin Khan and Yash Dayal are among the other pace options India have seen injured to varying degrees in recent months.

Bumrah, in particular, attempted an unsuccessful comeback before conceding the need for surgery in March.

Malik has taken the 2022 Indian Premier League by storm, claiming 21 wickets at an average of 20 for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The 22-year-old clocked the fastest ball in this year's tournament with a delivery that registered 156.9 kilometres per hour on the speed gun against Delhi Capitals this month.

Malik rattled India captain Rohit Sharma on the helmet and took 3-23 to make another huge statement in Sunrisers' win over Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.

He became the youngest Indian to take 20 wickets in an IPL season with his latest exhibition of explosive pace bowling.

Former India head coach Shastri wants to see the rapid Malik in Rohit's pace attack on the international stage in the near future.

"Central contract straightaway," Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 Time Out.

"And keep him in the mix, don't let him float around. Keep him in the mix with the main players and then he learns seeing (and) being around with the [Mohammed] Shamis and the [Jasprit] Bumrahs, and see the way they train, see the way they manage their workload.

"Of course, there'll be the team management there, support staff, that'll help him do that, but don't let him stray at the moment. Get him into the mix, and keep him there and groom him."

Shastri says the quick will be even more potent when he learns to bowl with more control.

He said: "He'll get better and better. You see his bowling once he takes a wicket. Look at the lines he starts bowling as opposed to when he has not got a wicket – that's when he is trying everything, his lines are all over the place.

"You don't want him to cut down on pace. The last thing you would tell him looking for control, cut down on pace. What you want him to do is get his lines right: if he can bowl that stump line, attack the stumps on a constant basis, varying his lengths, he will trouble [batters].

"If he gets a wicket and new guy comes in, he can really rattle him because he has got the pace, he can keep the bloke on his toes, but it's that line - if he gets into that channel, without cutting his pace it will make a huge difference."

Shastri says Malik can provide a new dimension to the India Test attack.

"I promise you, this guy is going to be a handful in red-ball cricket. Handful, really. If he is part of an Indian pace battery that has Bumrah, Shami, you add this bloke in, a fourth guy, it's going to be a serious attack," he added.

The Capitals posted 228-4 - the highest total of this year's IPL - as Shaw (66) and Ayer (88 not out) shone at the top of the order before Rishabh Pant chipped in with a 17-ball 38. 

Kolkata would surpass 200 too as both teams reached that landmark total for a third successive game in Sharjah, Eoin Morgan (44) and Rahul Tripathi (36) smashing 47 runs from the 17th and 18th overs. 

However, the Knight Riders would come up short in making 210-8 as Anrich Nortje (3-33) helped the Capitals make it three wins from four.

Delhi had three half-century partnerships at the start of their innings and Iyer, who crashed six maximums and seven fours, and Pant did most of the damage as the Capitals accumulated 77 runs in the final five overs. 

The Knight Riders were well short at the halfway point of their reply at 94-3 and they lost Nitish Rana (58) and captain Dinesh Karthik in back-to-back balls to Harshal Patel in the 13th over. 

A rapid 44 off 18 deliveries from England's limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan raised their hopes, but he fell in the penultimate over to Nortje, who gave up just five runs across those six balls, leaving Kolkata with too much to do.

LEAN RETURNS FOR NARINE 

Kolkata have won two of their opening four games, but no one has struggled for them more than opener Sunil Narine. Bowled by Nortje for three here, meaning he has made just a combined 27 runs in four innings at the tournament. 

"We will discuss Narine's role with the coaches, but I have got full confidence in Narine," Karthik said afterwards. 

NORTJE COMES TO RABADA'S RESCUE 

Kagiso Rabada is the joint-leading wicket-taker in this edition of the IPL with eight victims, but he had a hard time against Morgan, who smashed the South African paceman for three successive sixes at the start of the 18th over, a pair of short balls and an attempted yorker getting the treatment. 

Fortunately for Rabada, compatriot Nortje removed Morgan in the next over to kill off the Knight Riders' hopes. 

Shaw hit 11 fours – including six in a row in one over – and a trio of sixes in an innings of 82 that helped the Capitals coast to a 155-run target at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Shikhar Dhawan was happy enough to play second fiddle to his opening partner, making 46 from 47 balls before falling lbw to Pat Cummins with the total on 132 in the 14th over.

Cummins (3-24) also removed the outstanding Shaw and Rishabh Pant (16) with the finishing line in sight, leaving Marcus Stoinis to complete the job with a streaky four as Delhi triumphed with 21 balls to spare.

Kolkata had been indebted to some big hitting in the closing stages from Andre Russell but still finished with a below-par 154-6. The all-rounder blasted two fours and four sixes to top score with 45 not out.

Their hopes of posting a more substantial total had been damaged by losing four wickets for 13 runs in the middle overs, seeing them slip from 69-1 to 82-5.

Shubman Gill made 43 at the top of the order but both captain Eoin Morgan and Sunil Narine failed to trouble the scorers amid the collapse.

Lalit Yadav finished with figures of 2-13 for Delhi, while Axar Patel (2-32) also struck twice with his left-arm spin to help restrict the Knight Riders, who have now lost five of the past six meetings between the teams.

Double celebration for Russell

Russell celebrated his 33rd birthday with an eye-catching 27-ball knock that saw him surpass 6,000 Twenty20 runs in his career.

The right-hander was cautious at first before cutting loose, smashing Kagiso Rabada for successive sixes to finish the 19th over before ending the 20th with another off the bowling of Avesh Khan.

Capitals gain from a Shaw thing

Shaw reached his half-century from just 18 deliveries, aided by taking Shivam Mavi for six successive fours in an opening over that cost 25 runs (Delhi's reply had started with a wide).

Delhi's fifth victory in seven outings in the 2021 season sees them move level on 10 points with leaders Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the table.

Shepherd, who only played four IPL matches, representing LSG and Sunrisers Hyderabad, was traded to five-time champions Mumbai Indians for his existing fee of US$60 000, and he will be hoping for more playing time to not only justify the move, but more importantly, live up to his tidy reputation.

The 28-year-old is regarded for his pace bowling skills, boasting a repertoire of variations that will enable his captain to call upon him in different match situations. He can also contribute handsomely to the team's batting innings once he gets going.

Shepherd was a part of the Guyana Amazon Warriors side that won the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament for the first time, in September, and he has become an integral member of the West Indies Twenty20 International set-up.

He runs tally currently stands at 301 in 31 matches at an average of 37.62, while his strike rate is 153.57. With the ball, Shepherd has taken 31 wickets at an average of 29.70.

Mumbai Indians finished fourth in this year’s IPL tournament with eight wins in 14 matches. They defeated LSG in the first elimination final but lost to Gujarat Titans in the second elimination final.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have confirmed that the upcoming IPL auction will take place in Dubai. It will be the first time that the auction is being hosted outside of the country.

Last year, the auction was scheduled to be hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, before a late move to be hosted in the Indian city of Kochi.

Organisers have also extended the deadline for the list of released players from November 15 to November 26.

"My stuff is still left in the room," the 25-year-old said in an interview, indicating that he will be returning to India to see out the rest of the IPL.

Royals are in third place and are looking like one of the better placed teams to make the playoffs which are set to begin on May 24.

However, the player has not made himself available for the West Indies white-ball tours of the Netherlands and Pakistan starting later this month.

Hetmyer left Mumbai on Sunday morning on the back of another high-impact cameo - 31 not out off 16 balls against Punjab Kings that helped seal a chase of 190.

A delayed start to the contest meant it was limited to 16 overs per side, and KKR made it to 157-7 with Venkatesh Iyer producing a quick-hitting 42 runs from 21 balls, as Jasprit Bumrah (2-39) and Piyush Chawla (2-28) both made an impact with the ball.

While Sunil Narine went without scoring, Andre Russell contributed a 14-ball 24 toward the backend of the KKR innings, including two fours and two sixes.

The Indians looked likely to chase down their victory target when they reached 65-0 in the early stages, as they looked to improve on a fine 7-3 record at KKR's Eden Gardens.

But the wicket of Ishan Kishan in the seventh over sparked a rapid collapse, with Mumbai – already eliminated from the competition – quickly falling to 92-5 and ultimately losing by 18 runs.

Russell returned to grab 2-34 from three overs, sharing the wickets with Harshit Rana (2-34), Varun Chakaravarthy (2-17) and Narine, who had 1-21 from his three overs.

KKR remain top of the standings. As well as being the first team to seal their progress, they look good to secure a crucial top-two finish which would give them two chances to reach the final. They now have 18 points, two clear of Rajasthan Royals, who play Chennai Super Kings in one of two games due to take place on Sunday.

Data Debrief: Bumrah eyeing Purple Cap

While this was the latest setback in a highly disappointing season for Mumbai, who are second-bottom of the standings, Bumrah has been a prolific threat.

He took another two key wickets in this one, removing KKR dangerman Sunil Narine for a golden duck and halting a charge from Rinku Singh (20 from 12) in the final over.

That took India bowler Bumrah's season tally to 20, putting him level with Punjab Kings' Harshal Patel at the top of the Purple Cap standings.

The final figures could have been even better for Bumrah, who was frustrated to be hit for six by Ramandeep Singh (17 from 8) in the final ball of the KKR innings and earlier had an lbw decision against Nitish Rana (33) overturned on review.

However, a difficult period of form continued for Bumrah's team-mate Rohit Sharma in his team's unsuccessful run chase.

The opener came into the match with scores of 6, 8, 4, 11 and 4 in his last five innings and he was not much better here, struggling to 19 from 24 before falling to the superb Varun Chakaravarthy, who posted economical figures of 2-17 from four overs. That was quite the contrast to partner Kishan, who smashed 40 from 22.

The Capitals would have returned to the top of the table with a win at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, but KKR consigned them to back-to-back defeats to give their own play-off hopes a major boost. 

Nitish Rana (81 off 53 balls) and Sunil Narine (64 from 32) put on 115 to get Eoin Morgan's side up to an imposing 194-6. 

South Africa pacemen Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada - the leading wicket-taker in the tournament - took two wickets apiece, but Rana and Narine shifted the momentum after Kolkata had slipped to 42-3. 

The brilliant Pat Cummins (3-17) put the Knight Riders in control when he got rid of openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan cheaply. 

Chakravarthy then demolished the middle order with a magnificent exhibition of spin bowling, taking 5-20 from his four overs as the Capitals could only make 135-9 in their reply. 

Captain Shreyas Iyer (47) gave Delhi hope, but they lost seven wickets for 59 runs as Chakravarthy claimed the first five-wicket haul of this year's IPL. 

RANA AND NARINE TO THE RESCUE

Nortje (2-27) removed Shubman Gill in his first over and struck again in his second, giving Rahul Tripathi no chance to keep out a searing yorker. 

Rabada (2-33) got in on the act by dismissing Dinesh Karthik, but a century stand between Rana and Narine got KKR up to a challenging total. 

Narine smashed four sixes as Ravichandran Ashwin went for 45 off his three overs, while Rana struck 13 fours and a six in a 10th IPL half-century he dedicated to his late father-in-law, who passed away earlier this week.

CHAK ATTACK AFTER CUMMINS GETS KKR GOING

Cummins set the tone by getting a sharp first delivery to nip back and hit Rahane bang in front, then followed that up by removing Dhawan's off stump in his second over.

Iyer and Rishabh Pant put on 63 for the third wicket, but they were unable to score at the required rate as the Knight Riders' attack bowled with impressive discipline. 

The craft and composure of Chakravarthy then ended any hope of Delhi rising back to the summit, as he dismissed Shimron Hetmyer and Iyer in the 14th over after Pant had already holed out.

Captain Dean Elgar had appealed for loyalty from team-mates earlier this month, as they faced a big decision on whether to play in the two Tests or join up with their IPL sides after the ODI series with Bangladesh.

Elgar said at the time: "The players need to give Cricket South Africa an indication of if they are keen to go to the IPL or if they are keen to play for the Test side. It's a bit of a tough one putting that in the players' box but... this is where you see where players' loyalty lies."

With lucrative IPL deals in place, those signed up for duty in that competition have elected to fulfil their commitments in that regard, with the tournament getting under way on March 26 in Mumbai.

It means South Africa will be without pace bowling stars Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen for the Tests, plus batsmen Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) could not stand in the way of players putting the IPL first, under an agreement with the South African Cricketers' Association, and have had to delve deeper into their playing pool to produce a squad to face the touring Bangladesh side.

There were call-ups on Thursday for the likes of Khaya Zondo, Daryn Dupavillon and Lizaad Williams, who could make Test debuts.

CSA convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said: "The loss of the IPL players is not ideal, but we back the CSA system, its ever-growing pipeline and most of all, the players we have selected.

"Every member of the team is selected based on the excellence that they have shown over an extended period of time. There is no better opportunity for them than now, to show us what they have to offer the Proteas on this highly anticipated occasion."

The first Test begins at Kingsmead on March 31, with the second game starting on April 8 at St George's Park. A three-match ODI series between full-strength South Africa and Bangladesh teams gets under way on Friday.

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (captain), Temba Bavuma, Daryn Dupavillon, Sarel Erwee, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Duanne Olivier, Keegan Petersen, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo.