Kolkata Knight Riders' players celebrate after winning against Mumbai Indians, at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders entered the IPL playoffs with an 18-run victory over Mumbai Indians here on Saturday.
The match was reduced to 16 overs a side contest after a late start due to rain.
Batting first in the rain-curtailed match, KKR scored 157 for 7.
In reply, MI were stopped at 139 for eight.
Spinners Varun Chakaravarthy (2/17) and Sunil Narine (1/21) bowled beautifully in the middle overs after Ishan Kishan got MI off to a brisk start with a 22-ball 40. Tilak Varma smashed 32 in 17 balls, but he could not take his team over the line.
Earlier, Venkatesh Iyer top-scored with a 21-ball 42 while Rinku Singh (20 off 12 balls) and Andre Russell (24 off 14 balls) chipped in useful contributions, as KKR crossed 150. Nitish Rana made 33 in 23 balls.
For MI, lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled well to finish with figures of 2/39 in four overs and veteran spinner Piyush Chawla also took two wickets, giving away 28 runs in three overs.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 157 for 7 in 16 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 42; Jasprit Bumrah 2/39, Piyush Chawla 2/28).
Mumbai Indians: 139 for 8 in 16 overs (Ishan Kishan 40, Tilak Varma 32; Varun Chakaravarthy 2/17, Andre Russell 2/34).