The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured a playoff berth in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with an 18-run victory over the Mumbai Indians (MI) at Eden Gardens on Saturday, May 11.
KKR Bats First: KKR openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt struggled, managing only six runs between them. Narine, known for his power-hitting, was dismissed for a golden duck by a superb delivery from Jasprit Bumrah.
Venkatesh Iyer emerged as the top scorer for KKR with a well-constructed 42 runs off just 21 balls, helping the league leaders post a competitive total of 157/7 in their rain-affected 16 overs. Piyush Chawla led the Mumbai bowling attack with two wickets.
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MI's Chase Falters: MI openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan started brightly, offering hope for a successful chase. However, quick wickets saw both depart within eight overs. While Kishan scored an aggressive 40 runs off 22 balls, Sharma continued his disappointing form, dismissed for just 19.
With the score at 67/2 after 7.5 overs, the in-form duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma took over the chase. However, a batting collapse followed, leaving MI struggling at 92/5 after 12.1 overs. Mumbai was eventually restricted to 139/8, with Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Andre Russell taking two wickets each for KKR.
Kolkata secured the victory in front of their home crowd and qualified for the playoffs.
