Is KKR out of IPL 2022 playoff: Kolkata Knight Riders have lost eight Indian Premier League 2022 league matches.
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A nerve-wrenching finish to Indian Premier League 2022 Match 66 resulted in Lucknow Super Giants beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 2 runs to reclaim their second spot on the points table on the back of nine victories from 14 matches.
Chasing a 211-run target, KKR didn’t give up on the hope of sealing their highest-ever IPL chase tonight. Captain Shreyas Iyer (50), batter Nitish Rana (42) and wicket-keeper batter Sam Billings (36) did contribute but neither of them was able to play a match-winning knock.
All-rounder Andre Russell (5), who was always going to be their go-to man in such a situation, failed to get going during their 11-ball stay leaving Rinku Singh (40) and Sunil Narine (21*) to chase 61 runs off 20 balls.
Proud. pic.twitter.com/n1UNOY3F62
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 18, 2022
Had it not been for a sensational Evin Lewis catch on the penultimate ball of the match at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy tonight, Rinku might have even won the match for Kolkata on Wednesday.
Is KKR out of IPL 2022?
In what was a must-win match for them, Knight Riders ending up on the losing side has knocked them out of IPL 2022. Having won six and lost eight out of their 14 matches this season, there’s no way Iyer and his men can qualify for the playoffs now.
It is noteworthy that even a victory in this match wouldn’t have guaranteed KKR with a playoffs spot. It’s just that a win was their best chance to have some hope. Failing to secure a win, they are out of the ongoing 15th season of the biggest T20 tournament across the globe.
While Rinku (174 runs at a strike rate of 148.71) is doubtlessly their find of the season, Iyer (401 runs at a strike rate of 134.56) is their top run-scorer this season. In addition to his 335 runs coming at a strike rate of 174.47, Russell (17 wickets at a strike rate of 9.9) is also Kolkata’s IPL 2022 highest wicket-taker.