The Kolkata Knight Riders, who defeated the Mumbai Indians by 18 runs at Eden Gardens on Saturday, are the first club to guarantee their spot in the playoffs of the 2024 Indin Premier League season.
Following a lengthy rain delay that ended the play, KKR amassed 157 runs in 16 overs, with Venkatesh Iyer top-scoring with 42 runs for the home team.
After a rapid start by MI’s openers, the two-time champions’ spinners reversed the flow of the match in their favor, limiting MI to 139 runs for the cost of eight wickets.
The middle overs saw Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine stifle the flow of runs and take wickets at regular intervals, forcing the visitors to surrender and winning the match that sent them into the playoffs.
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The home team put up a respectable batting display, and they should be grateful to Venkatesh Iyer for his 42-run performance and the resilient 33 from the returning Nitish Rana. The Mumbai Indians were set a target of 158 thanks to contributions from players like Rinku Singh and Andre Russell, who scored some vital runs.
The seasons were very different for the two teams; KKR significantly outperformed MI, who finished the postseason after going through a severe slump that they were unable to overcome.
When the two sides faced off earlier in the season at Wankhede Stadium, KKR won by a margin of 24 runs, snapping a 12-year drought for victory against MI at the location.
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