KOLKATA, MAY 12
Indian Premier League leaders the Kolkata Knight Riders became the first playoff team after beating Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in a rain-shortened match on Saturday.
A nearly two-hour delay reduced the game to 16 overs per side, and Kolkata put up 157-7 then restricted Mumbai to 139-8.
Kolkata confirmed a spot in the final four. Five other teams, including defending champions the Chennai Super Kings, were in realistic contention for the remaining three spots. Five-time champion Mumbai was already eliminated from contention.
Put into bat, Kolkata's in-form openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine were out cheaply at 10-2. Jasprit Bumrah bowled Narine for a golden duck.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer was out for 7, and Venkatesh Iyer stepped up to resurrect the innings.
Venkatesh Iyer scored 42 off 21 balls, including six fours and two sixes. He shared 37 with Nitish Rana, who scored 33, and was out caught off wrist spinner Piyush Chawla.
Andre Russell (24) and Rinku Singh (20) hit two sixes each in cameos that helped Kolkata cross 150. Ramandeep Singh added an unbeaten 17 off eight balls.
Mumbai's chase lost momentum.
Ishan Kishan gave them a cracking start with 40 off 22 balls, including five boundaries and two sixes. But his opening partner Rohit Sharma labored to 19 off 24 balls.
They put on 65 off 42 balls, then wickets fell in a heap. Kishan holed out off Sunil Narine, and Sharma was dismissed within six deliveries by Varun Chakravarthy.
Defeat was certain when Suryakumar Yadav on 11 was caught in the deep off Russell, 2-34.
Russell also accounted for hard-hitting Tim David, who was out for a three-ball duck.
Skipper Hardik Pandya's batting woes continued when he was out caught for 2.
Tilak Varma scored 32 off 17 balls and Naman Dhir offered a six-ball cameo for 17 at the death, but Mumbai fell to a ninth defeat in 13 games.
