In the 60th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 18 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
MI won the toss and asked KKR to bat first. In a rain-hit game, the match commenced after more than an hour and a half with 16 overs per side. The home team lost Sunil Narine for a duck in the first innings, while Phil Salt (6) also scored just one six. It was Venkatesh Iyer (42), who struck well from ball one and guided the two-time champions in the first inning. The southpaw batter played at a strike rate of 200 and hit six fours and two sixes. The batter also had a decent partnership with Nitish Rana (33), which laid the foundation for forthcoming batters. The likes of Andre Russell (24), Rinku Singh (20), and Ramandeep Singh (17) also hit a few boundaries which got KKR to a par score of 157/7 in 20 overs.
Ishan Kishan (40) and Rohit Sharma (19) began the chase with some aggressive intent. Kishan hammered five fours and two sixes and certainly sent a message that he’s back in form. Tilak Varma (32) also showcased his skills and stood almost till the end. Naman Dhir (17) also smashed a few out of the park but the game was already out of hand by then.
While defending, KKR gave 59 runs in the powerplay but came back strong in the next few overs. The likes of Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakaravarthy scalped two wickets each, while Narine also got one wicket.
Piyush Chawla did a commendable job with the ball as he plucked two massive wickets. Along with him, Jasprit Bumrah also took two wickets. One wicket each was also grabbed by Nuwan Thushara and Anshul Kamboj.
Varun Chakaravarthy was awarded Player of the Match for his scintillating bowling show. With this result, KKR now have 18 points and have become the first team to qualify for the playoffs.
Scorecard:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 157/7, Overs 20, Venkatesh Iyer 42, Piyush Chawla 2/28
Mumbai Indians: 139/8, Overs 20, Ishan Kishan 40, Varun Chakaravarthy 2/17