They beat MI by four wickets to jump to sixth place with 13 points
Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders kept their IPL playoff hopes alive with a crucial four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in a low-scoring contest at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Needing a victory to stay in contention, KKR produced a disciplined bowling effort after Ajinkya Rahane opted to field, restricting the already-eliminated five-time champions to 147/8 on a challenging surface.
Sunil Narine, Cameron Green and Saurabh Dubey exploited the sticky conditions effectively, while Mumbai’s innings never gathered momentum despite a few starts. Green also impressed in the field with a stunning catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma as MI lost wickets at regular intervals.
In reply, KKR stumbled early with Finn Allen, Rahane and Cameron Green departing cheaply. Veteran Manish Pandey, promoted to No 3 in the absence of injured Angkrish Raghuvanshi, steadied the innings with a composed 45 off 33 balls, striking six fours.
Pandey and Rovman Powell (40 off 30 balls) added a vital 64-run stand to revive the chase before Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy guided KKR home in 18.5 overs.
The win lifted KKR from eighth to sixth in the standings with 13 points from 13 matches, though their playoff hopes still depend on other results. Mumbai, meanwhile, slumped to their ninth defeat in 13 games and remained second from bottom.
