KKR’s captain, Shreyas Iyer, believed strongly in making things happen by thinking positively. His belief came true when his team became the first to secure a spot in the playoffs of the 2024 Indian Premier League after beating Mumbai Indians on Saturday by 18 runs.
“I manifested this before the game (on becoming the 1st side to qualify for the playoffs). Nerves were there, boys have been raising their hands and there have been many game-changers and kudos to each and every one of them,” Iyer said after the match.
After losing their opening batsmen, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, early in the game, Kolkata Knight Riders got important contributions from Venkatesh Iyer (scoring 42 runs), Nitish Rana (scoring 33 runs), Andre Russell (scoring 24 runs), and Rinku Singh (scoring 20 runs). These efforts helped KKR reach a total score of 157/7 in their allotted 16 overs. Acknowledging that MI were performing stupendously in the first six overs of the second inning.
The KKR skipper said it was “nice to bounce back from that situation. They were going at great guns in the first 6 overs, and to bounce back from that situation it was nice to see. It’s all about understanding which bowler is doing well on that particular day, I feel both of them bowled well and my gut went with Varun (on bowling the 4th over) at that point and I backed him,” he added.
Piyush Chawla, who took 2 wickets for 28 runs, and Jasprit Bumrah, who took 2 wickets for 39 runs, were the standout bowlers for Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians’ Chase Stumbles Despite Strong Start
During their chase, Ishan Kishan (scoring 40 runs) and Rohit Sharma (scoring 19 runs) started well with a solid opening partnership of 65 runs. However, Kolkata Knight Riders quickly tightened their grip on the game, taking crucial wickets. Despite efforts from Tilak Varma (scoring 32 runs) and Naman Dhir (scoring 17 runs), Mumbai Indians fell short by 18 runs, reaching a total of 139/8 in their 16 overs.
Varun Chakravarthy was the top bowler for KKR, taking 2 wickets for 17 runs. Andre Russell and Harshit Rana also performed well with the ball, taking 2 wickets each for 34 runs. As a result of this victory, KKR is leading the points table with nine wins and three losses, accumulating a total of 18 points. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians find themselves at the bottom of the table with four wins and nine losses, totalling eight points.
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