IPL 2024: KKR reach playoffs following 18-run win against MI

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 12 : A fantastic comeback effort by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinners helped derail Mumbai Indians (MI) run-chase of 158 runs, restricting them to 139/8 in 16 overs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens on Saturday and made the two-time champions the first team to reach the playoffs.
Earlier, rain played a spoilsport and the match officials decided to make it a 16-over contest.
In the run chase of 158 runs, Mumbai Indians was off to a solid start, with opener Ishan Kishan playing an aggressive role and Rohit Sharma taking a backseat.
In the fourth over by Harshit Rana, Kishan let his hands loose, smashing him for two fours and a six. The six, a flick over deep mid-wicket, ended the over which gave away 15 runs.
With a boundary over the deep point region, Kishan helped MI reach the 50-run mark in 5.5 overs. With a six over deep square leg to Sunil Narine, Kishan ended the fifth over, which also marked the end of the powerplay in this rain-truncated 16-over affair. MI was 59/0, with Kishan (37*) and Rohit (15*) unbeaten.
A fantastic catch from Rinku Singh at deep mid-wicket ended the partnership at 65 runs, as Sunil Narine got Kishan for 40 in 22 balls, with five fours and two sixes. MI was 65/1 in 6.5 overs.
In the next over, Varun Chakravarthy got rid of a struggling Rohit, with a catch by Narine at short fine leg getting him out for 19 in 24 balls, with a four and six. MI was 67/2 in 7.5 overs.
At the end of 10 overs, MI was 81/2, with the new pair of Suryakumar Yadav (10*) and Tilak Varma (5*) assigned the task of getting 77 runs in the final six overs.
In the next two overs, MI's batting imploded, starting with a fantastic catch from Ramandeep Singh at deep square leg removing Suryakumar Yadav, who could not unleash his 360-hitting this time and made only 11 in 14 balls, with a boundary. In the next over Chakravarthy dismissed the skipper Hardik Pandya for just two runs in four balls. Russell's 13th over continued KKR's domination over MI as Iyer took a fine running catch from deep midwicket to remove the finisher Tim David for a three-ball duck. MI was 92/5 in 12.1 overs.
Tilak and Nehal Wadhera joined forces, taking MI beyond the 100-run mark in 12.5 overs. Tilak tried to infuse some life into the game by attacking Harshit with two fours and a six in the 14th over, but the over ended on a bad note with Nehal Wadhera being run out for three runs in three balls. MI sank to 117/6 in 14 overs, needing 41 runs in 12 balls.
Naman Dhir, who came down the order, kept MI's hopes alive by smashing Russell for two sixes over the deep square and mid-wicket region and a boundary, bringing down the equation to 22 in the final over.
The final over by Harshit started with Naman being dismissed after being caught by Rinku Singh at deep midwicket. Naman was gone for 17 in six balls. MI was 136/7 in 15.1 overs. He got his second wicket, removing Tilak for a fighting 32 in 17 balls, consisting of five fours and a six. MI was 137/8 in 15.3 overs.
MI ended their innings at 139/8, with Anshul Kambhoj (2*) and Piyush Chawla (1*) unbeaten.
Chakravarty (2/17), Harshit and Russell (2/34) each, were among the top bowlers for KKR.
Earlier, Venkatesh Iyer's stand-out performance powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 157/7 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the iconic Eden Gardens.
After winning the toss, Hardik Pandya-led MI sent KKR to bat first. The KKR openers Philip Salt (6) and Sunil Narine (0) displayed a sloppy performance.
MI's bowling attack was successful in picking quick wickets. Pacer Nuwan Thushara made the first breakthrough of the match as he dismissed Philip in the fifth ball of the first over. Salt started brilliantly after he smashed a six in the first ball of the inning against Thushara.
Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah picked up the second wicket of the match after he removed dangerous Narine on his first ball in the second over.
After losing quick wickets, Venkatesh Iyer (42) stood still on the crease to take KKR to a better position.
The third wicket of the inning came when Anshul Kamboj removed KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer (7) in the fifth over. Iyer slammed just one-four during his time on the crease.
In the first powerplay, KKR scored 45 runs. While MI bagged three wickets.
Nitish Rana (33) who returned to the field after recovering from injury made a solid partnership with Venkatesh. The two added crucial runs on the scoreboard to bring KKR back into the match.
However, the partnership did not last long after Piyush Chawla removed Venkatesh in the 9th over when KKR were 77/4. The batting allrounder slammed 6 fours and 2 sixes.
After losing Venkatesh, KKR tried to play more carefully and crossed the 100-run mark in the 11th over.
Nitish and Andre Russell (24) became set on the crease and played crucial knocks. However, the 13th over became crucial for the hosts as they lost both Rana and Russell.
In the final over, Rinku Singh (20) was dismissed by Bumrah. The Indian batter slammed 2 sixes.
In the end, Ramandeep Singh (17) and Mitchell Starc (2) were unbeaten on the crease and propelled KKR to 157/7.
Brief score: Kolkata Knight Riders 157/7 (Venkatesh Iyer 42, Nitish Rana 33, Andre Russell 24; Piyush Chawla 2/28) won against Mumbai Indians: 139/8 (Ishan Kishan 40, Tilak Varma 32, Varun Chakravarthy 2/17).