Spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned bowling figures of 2-17 as Kolkata Knight Riders booked their play-off spot with an 18-run win over Mumbai Indians in a rain-reduced IPL match.
Two-time champions Kolkata posted 157-7 as Venkatesh Iyer top-scored with 42 off 21 balls after being invited to bat first at their home Eden Gardens in a 16-overs-a-side match.
Bowlers combined to defend the total after Mumbai raced to 65-0 and Chakravarthy, a mystery spinner, got the big wickets of Rohit Sharma, who made 19 after coming in as impact substitute, and skipper Hardik Pandya, who was caught out for two.
Five-time winners Mumbai, who are already out of the play-off race, finished on 139-8 as Tilak Varma hit a 17-ball 32 before he fell to fast bowler Harshit Rana, who took two wickets in the last over.
Pace bowler Andre Russell also took two wickets, including that of Suryakumar Yadav, as table-toppers Kolkata got their ninth win in 12 matches to become the first team to book a play-off berth.
The top four teams will make the play-offs with the final on May 26 in Chennai.
“We knew the wicket was sticky and that there was a bit for the spinners,” said MI’s Andre Russell. “Knew it was a good score with our spin attack. We knew there was a big boundary too and tried using it.
“Our bowlers have won it.
“We have youngsters who want to learn, which makes it easier for seniors. We always have a group around us. This is the love and passion, which is why we’re doing so well,” he added.
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians became the first team to be knocked out of IPL 2024 and Hardik Pandya commented: “Tough one. As a batting unit, the foundation was there but we could not capitalise and that cost us.
“The wicket was tacky, so momentum was important but after that we couldn’t capitalise. Their score was par, given the conditions I thought the bowlers did well. When the balls returned from the boundary, it hit the cover and was wet.
“They did well. It seemed par but was a winning total,” he added.
Kolkata lost openers Phil Salt, out for six, and Sunil Narine, bowled for a duck off Jasprit Bumrah, in the first two overs and skipper Shreyas Iyer soon fell for seven.
But Venkatesh, a left-hand batsman, made Kolkata hit back with six fours and two sixes and he set the pace that was picked up by Nitish Rana and Russell in a key stand of 39.
Rana, a left-hand batter, hit 33 and Russell smashed 24 off 14 before Rinku Singh, who hit 20, and Ramandeep Singh, unbeaten 17, helped Kolkata finish on a high.
Bumrah and veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla took two wickets each.
Brief scores
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs (rain reduced, 16 overs)
Kolkata Knight Riders:157 for7 wickets in 16 overs (Venkatesh 42, Rana 33, Russell 24, Rinku 20; Bumraj 2-39, Chawla 2-28
Mumbai Indians:139 for 8 wickets in 16 overs (Kishan 40, Varma 32; Rana 2-34, Chakravarthy 2-17, Russell 2-34)
Playing on Sunday, May 12
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals 2:00 pm (UAE time)
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals 6:00 pm (UAE time)
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru