MUMBAI: Andre Russell has been the man of the tournament for the Kolkata Knight Riders and one of the most exciting batsmen in this year’s Indian Premier League. But the Jamaican’s final impression with the bat was an innocuous leave, which just brushed his bat and flew into wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock’s hands.
Russell, like the other in-form Kolkata batsmen, was brought down by a tricky wicket and a bowling attack that knew just how to exploit the conditions. Kolkata’s final salvo sounded more like a whimper as they lost by nine wickets to Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday to bow out of the tournament.
Mumbai, who had already secured qualification to the playoffs, finished at the top of the table with 18 points from 14 matches. They will play Qualifier 1 against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at in Chennai on Tuesday. Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad will face off in Wednesday’s Eliminator in Visakhapatnam.
In a must-win game for the Kolkata, the team finished second to Mumbai by quite a distance. As their batsmen struggled on a pitch where the ball stopped before coming onto the bat, Kolkata, asked to take first strike, managed only 133 for seven in 20 overs. The hosts knocked off the required runs in 16.1 overs, Suryakumar Yadav capping it off with a six. Captain Rohit Sharma (55 not out) and Yadav (46 not out) batted themselves into form.
Even though De Kock wasn’t able to convert on his start (30), the South African has delivered consistently for Mumbai. And with the top-order getting some much needed playing time, three-time champions Mumbai are looking ominous again.
Against Kolkata though, it was Mumbai’s bowlers who set up the win. While Lasith Malinga and Hardik Pandya made the big dent with five wickets between them, the other bowlers also played their part perfectly. Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya gave away only 14 runs in his four overs.
But it was the younger Pandya who set Kolkata back by dismissing the in-form Shubman Gill with his very first ball and then sending back the dangerous Chris Lynn (41) in his next over. Meanwhile, Malinga was too much for Kolkata to handle. He accounted for Dinesh Karthik and Russell in the space of three balls to put the skids on Kolkata.
He also dismissed Nitish Rana, who was threatening to swell the scoring in the later overs. He hit 26 off 13, but it was too less for Kolkata. Brief scores: Kolkata 133/7 in 20 ovs (Lynn 41, Uthappa 40; Malinga 3/35) lost to Mumbai 134/1 in 16.1 ovs (Rohit 55 n.o, Suryakumar 46 n.o).