New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Varun Chakraborty beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in a rain-affected IPL match to reach the playoffs with the best figures of 2/17.
KKR is on top of the table and their win means they are the first team to secure a playoff berth.
“I had mentioned that we will make it through. We played very well and boys took up responsibility,” KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said during his post-match press conference.
“There were many game changers. The boys have shown great attitude today and it shows. I think whoever bats better on that day (It was Chakravarthy in the fourth round and Harshit in the last round) is better. And Varun bowled really well, yesterday night he was not allowing me to play off my legs so I thought intuition came into play,” he said.
Venkatesh Iyer (21) helped two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders set a target of 157/7 at home Eden Gardens in a 16-over affair They opened with 42 on board
However, despite Mumbai Indians posting a score of 65-0 at one stage, KKR bowlers struggled to defend their totals
Chakravarthy, who is known for his cryptic spin, knocked out crucial wickets including Rohit Sharmacontributed19 runs as substitute playergoing down while captain Hardik Pandyatwo people got dismissed.
Although Mumbai Indians were out of qualifying for playoffs , Tilak Varma’s 32 off 17 balls enabled them to register one forty nine-eight victory but they were finally removed by quickie Harshit · Harshit Rana who eliminated Harshit Rana took two wickets in the final over.
The tournament will conclude on May 26th in Chennai with four teams remaining for playoffs.
