KKR become 1st team to qualify for IPL 2024 playoffs after MI win

KKR became the first team to seal their place in the IPL 2024 Playoffs as they defeated MI at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on May 11, Saturday. This is the first time KKR are making it to the playoffs since they made it to the final of the 2021 season. KKR made it 9 wins out of 12 matches as they extended their lead at the top of the IPL 2024 points table.

KKR has been one of the early pace-setters this season along with RR as they have continued been the top two for most of the season. The arrival of Gautam Gambhir as mentor has certainly had the desired effect on the two-time champions, who had finished in 7th spot last season.

KKR vs MI: Highlights | Scorecard

Another win in their remaining two games will seal their spot in the top two and head to the qualifier 1 of the playoffs.

How the KKR vs MI match unfolded

The rain in Kolkata had affected the game as it was reduced to a 16-over game. KKR were put into bat after Shreyas Iyer lost his 7th straight toss. KKR found themselves in trouble as they lost both Phil Salt and Sunil Narine cheaply. Shreyas Iyer also couldn't contribute much with the bat as KKR were reduced to 40 for 3.

Venkatesh Iyer played an incredible knock of 42 from 21 balls and the returning Nitish Rana would also pitch in with 33 from 23 balls as the innings was steadied after the early wickets. Cameos from Andre Russell, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh got KKR to 157 in 20 overs.

The MI chase was off to a very brisk start with Ishan Kishan scoring 40 off 22 balls. However, Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy would apply the squeeze and remove Kishan and Rohit Sharma. Andre Russell got the big wicket of Suryakumar Yadav and also got rid of Tim David.

Tilak Verma tried his best with 32 but it wasn't enough in the end as KKR won the match by 18 runs.