DUBAI: Rahul Tripathi hit a six off the penultimate ball Wednesday to see Kolkata Knight Riders to victory over Delhi Capitals and into the Indian Premier League final.
On a night of heartache, Delhi topped the eight team table but failed to reach the final despite a late comeback when they took four Kolkata wickets in 10 balls including England captain Eoin Morgan.
As the chase for Delhi’s 135 for five became increasingly desparate, Tripathi hit the ball over the boundary to lead Kolkata to victory in Sharjah with 135 for seven and just one ball to spare.
The Kolkata players erupted in joy. They were fourth in the table but still reached the final after beating Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore and now Delhi in the playoffs.
“We are delighted to get over the line,” said Morgan.
“We are in the entertainment business and needed to play some entertaining cricket. Six off two and you would say the odds are for the bowling side. But Tripathi has done it for us so many times.”
Morgan said his team would “dissect” the nervy finish before they play three-time champions Chennai Super Kings in the final on Friday.
“It should’ve been a lot easier after the start we got,” he admitted.
Kolkata bowled brilliantly to restrict Delhi’s normally aggressive batting line up.
Varun Chakravarty claimed the key wickets of openers Prithvi Shaw and top scorer Shikhar Dhawan whose 36 off 39 balls gave Delhi a hope of putting up a competitive score.
But Chakravarty who gave away just 26 runs, fellow pacer Lockie Ferguson who also conceded only 26, smothered the Delhi batters.
Marcus Stoinis hit 18 before he was bowled by Shivam Mari and Shimron Hetmyer made 17 off 10 balls, including two lusty sixes, but no one could build the crucial big partnership with Dhawan.
Kolkata seemed to be strolling to victory when Shubman Gill (46) and Venkatesh Iyer (55) put on 96 for the first wicket.
But after they went only Nitish Rana (13) and Tripathi (12) managed to score.
Wicketkeeper Dinesh Khartik, Morgan, Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine all went for ducks in a dramatic final three overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets in consecutive balls in the 20th over but Tripathi hit the winning six on the hat-trick ball to secure the win.
“The win for the team was very important,” said Tripathi. “We had one or two tough overs and I never thought it would go so deep.”
Delhi captain Rishabh Pant fought back tears after the game.
“I don’t have words to express at the moment,” he said.
“We just kept believing and tried to stay in the game as long as possible.
“The bowlers nearly pulled it back, but it’s unfortunate that it didn’t go our way.
“They bowled very well in the middle-overs, we got stuck and couldn’t rotate strike. Delhi Capitals are known to be positive and hopefully we’ll come back better next season.”
Winning five of their last seven games, Kolkata put on an extraordinary resurgence in the second half of the IPL — switched to the United Arab Emirates as a coronavirus precaution — to reach the final.
Morgan said the win had been “a nice insight into our team culture — the young guys coming in feel free to express themselves” and now there are “expectations” around the squad going into the final.
Kolkata Knight Riders win thriller versus Delhi Capitals to reach IPL final
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Kolkata Knight Riders win thriller versus Delhi Capitals to reach IPL final
- Winning five of their last seven games, Kolkata put on an extraordinary resurgence in the second half of the IPL
Boca Juniors fires coach Fernando Gago after loss to rival River Plate
It was the first time in club history that Boca were eliminated by a Peruvian team
BUENOS AIRES: Argentine club Boca Juniors fired coach Fernando Gago on Tuesday after losing to crosstown rival River Plate over the weekend.
Mauricio Serna, a member of Boca Juniors’ Football Council, announced Gago’s departure following the 2-1 defeat in the Argentine clasico played on Sunday.
“We’re here to make decisions, and late last night, we found that there is no way for him to be our coach,” Serna said. “We’re very grateful because he’s put in all his effort, but there are situations that have led us to make a final decision.”
The loss to River Plate was another blow to a team were eliminated in the early stages of Copa Libertadores, losing to Alianza Lima. It was the first time in club history that Boca were eliminated by a Peruvian team in the competition.
Gago, a former Real Madrid player, took over as coach of Boca Juniors last October after stepping down from his role at Mexico’s Chivas in the middle of the season to replace Diego Martínez. He coached 30 games, won 17 with five draws and eight losses.
Inter looking to power back up ahead of Champions League match at Barcelona
- Inter is hoping it won’t have to make a similarly arduous journey after an unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain to a standstill
- Inter heads to Barcelona following a dire run of results that has seen its dreams of another treble evaporate
MILAN: Strange things happen when Inter Milan plays Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals.
The last time the two teams met in the final four of Europe’s elite club competition, in 2010, Barcelona had to make a 15-hour journey by bus to Milan after an ash cloud caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull shut down air space.
Barcelona lost that first leg 3-1 and a stout defensive performance by Inter in the return match saw it advance to the final 3-2 on aggregate — where it beat Bayern Munich to clinch a historic treble under Jose Mourinho.
Inter is hoping it won’t have to make a similarly arduous journey after an unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday.
Power had almost fully returned to Spain early Tuesday morning and Inter’s charter flight was still scheduled to take off for Barcelona at 5 p.m. local time ahead of the first leg of their semifinal on Wednesday.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi will be hoping his team can power back up for the game as well.
Inter heads to Barcelona following a dire run of results that has seen its dreams of another treble evaporate.
For the first time in more than 13 years, Inter has lost three straight matches without scoring a goal.
Since a 2-2 draw against Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals, the Nerazzurri have lost to Bologna and Roma in Serie A and AC Milan in the Italian Cup — all by the same 1-0 scoreline.
That has also seen them been leapfrogged at the top of the Serie A table by Napoli, slipping three points behind the new league leader.
“The three defeats hurt and we’re not used to this, we have to look at ourselves and try to recover our physical and mental energy,” Inzaghi said.
Those three games, however, had something in common: Marcus Thuram was missing.
Thuram, who has been out with a left thigh issue, has scored 17 goals and provided nine assists across all competitions for Inter this season.
Without the France forward, Lautaro Martinez has appeared fatigued attempting to carry Inter’s attack. And Marko Arnautovic, Thuram’s replacement, has been ineffective.
Thuram has returned to training and could even start on Wednesday.
“We’ll head to Barcelona and we will play them with respect, not fear,” Inzaghi added.
Real Madrid defender Rüdiger expected to miss the rest of the season after knee surgery
- The club did not give a timeline for his return. Rüdiger had to be replaced in extra time of Madrid 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday
- He made headlines for shouting at the referee from the bench and for apparently throwing a small bag of ice onto the field
MADRID: Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Madrid said Rüdiger successfully underwent surgery on a meniscus tear in his left knee and will begin “his recovery process shortly.” The club did not give a timeline for his return.
Rüdiger had to be replaced in extra time of Madrid 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.
He made headlines for shouting at the referee from the bench and for apparently throwing a small bag of ice onto the field.
Rüdiger apologized for his behavior but the incident prompted former Germany player Dietmar Hamann to call for the defender to be left out of Germany’s squad for the Nations League final four in June.
German national team sporting director Rudi Völler also criticized Rüdiger, saying he needed to show “class” and respect for others.
Germany plays Portugal in the Nations League semifinals in Munich on June 4.
Coach Stefano Pioli confident as Al-Nassr prepare for AFC Champions League Elite semi showdown
- Riyadh giant Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals
- Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday
JEDDAH: Al-Nassr coach Stefano Pioli declared his side injury-free ahead of Wednesday’s Asian Champions League Elite semifinal against Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah as the Saudi Pro League side look to reach the final for the first time in almost 30 years.
The Riyadh-based outfit last made the decider in 1995, but a brace from Jhon Duran and strikes by Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a 4-1 win over Yokohama F Marinos on Saturday to move the Saudi side to the cusp of a first title.
“We are ready for the match, but in training we will decide which group is going to play,” Pioli said. “The team is ready to play the game with great spirit, high performance.”
Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals, the first time a single nation has dominated the latter stages of the competition to such an extent.
The huge injection of cash into the country’s leading clubs by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2023 which prompted the signing of numerous high-profile players from around the world is having a major impact on this year’s competition.
Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday.
Japan’s Kawasaki are the only team from their half of the confederation left in the competition after their win over Qatar’s Al-Sadd, and the J-League side have been further disadvantaged by having one day less to recover than Al-Nassr.
Frontale needed extra-time to defeat Felix Sanchez’s side and coach Shigetoshi Hasebe admitted he was concerned about his players’ lack of freshness ahead of the Al-Nassr clash.
“All the players are tired because they played for 120 minutes, which is very difficult for us,” he said. “But we’ll be playing in a different stadium, so we can have a new feeling and I can imagine the players will play very well tomorrow night.”
Kawasaki midfielder Kento Tachibanada stressed it was important not to obsess over the reputations of their opponents.
“The key point is not to be afraid of the famous players and their big names,” he said. “Many people think the teams from Saudi will win, but I want to break that type of image tomorrow night.”
Power outage still affecting Madrid Open tennis tournament. Opening of the gates delayed on Tuesday.
Power outage still affecting Madrid Open tennis tournament. Opening of the gates delayed on Tuesday.
- They did not immediately announce any schedule change regarding the matches
- The power went out at 12:34 p.m. local time (1034 GMT) on Monday and 22 matches had to be canceled for the day
MADRID: There was still no power at the Caja Magica tennis complex that is hosting the Madrid Open on Tuesday, putting in jeopardy the resumption of play a day after several matches had to be canceled.
Tournament organizers said the opening of the gates for fans was delayed until 11 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) because of the outage. They did not immediately announce any schedule change regarding the matches.
“Due to reasons beyond the organization’s control, the Caja Mágica is still without power supply as of this morning. As a result, the opening of the gates has been delayed, and we expect to open them at 11 a.m.,” they said.
The power went out at 12:34 p.m. local time (1034 GMT) on Monday, stopping two ATP singles matches and one doubles match that were underway. A total of 22 matches had to be canceled for the day.
Organizers said the games were called off “to guarantee the safety of the players, fans and personnel.” Spectators were told to leave the sports complex.
Power was restored at night through most parts of Madrid, and organizers had said late Monday that play would resume on Tuesday.
Among the matches expected for Tuesday included second-ranked Alexander Zverev facing Francisco Cerundolo. On the women’s side, the remaining six fourth-round matches were scheduled, including top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka facing Peyton Stearns and second-ranked Iga Swiatek taking on Diana Shnaider.
The blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill, knocking out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines.
