Kolkata Knight Riders live to fight another day

PTI

Navi Mumbai, May 9

Kolkata Knight Riders finally found the team balance they were looking for as they outclassed Mumbai Indians by 52 runs here today and kept their slim IPL playoff hopes alive.

Mumbai Indians’ pacer Jasprit Bumrah picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in IPL to restrict KKR to 165/9 after fine knocks from Venkatesh Iyer (43 off 24) and Nitish Rana (43 off 24).

Barring a 43-ball 51 from Ishan Kishan, Mumbai’s batters struggled to get going in the chase as their innings ended at 113 all out in 17.3 overs. KKR finally played Tim Southee (1/10) and Pat Cummins (3/22) together and the move worked with the seasoned pacers sharing four wickets. Andre Russell too chipped in with a couple of wickets.

While MI were already out of the race, KKR, who have five wins from 12 games, can still sneak into the top-four. — PTI

Brief scores: KKR: 165/9 (Venkatesh 43; Bumrah 5/10); MI: 113 all out in 17.3 overs (Kishan 51; Cummins 3/22)

The premier battle

Pune: On a slippery slope after back-to-back losses, Gujarat Titans will need their batters to fire when they take on Lucknow Super Giants as the two teams look to seal a playoffs berth tomorrow. Both the teams have 16 points each from 11 outings and a win for either will confirm the passage to the next stage. The two new entrants are having a dream run.

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