Kolkata Knight Riders become the first team to qualify for IPL 2024 playoffs after their 18-run victory over MI

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) became the first team to qualify for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs. They secured an 18-run victory against Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens on Saturday, May 11.

Due to the rain delay, the game was reduced to 16 overs per side. Batting first, the Knight Riders lost their key batters, Phil Salt (6) and Sunil Narine (0), and skipper, Shreyas Iyer (7) early. However, Venkatesh Iyer (42 off 21) and Nitish Rana (33 off 23) kept the team in good stead.

Contributions of Andre Russell (24), Rinku Singh (20), and Ramandeep Singh (17*) boosted KKR to 157. Jasprit Bumrah and Piyush Chawla scalped two wickets apiece for Mumbai.

In response, Ishan Kishan (40 off 22) provided a terrific start to the Mumbai side. However, Rohit Sharma (19 off 24) struggled to be potent enough with his performance.

The trio of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Tim David failed to provide a notable contribution. Although Tilak Varma (32 off 17) gave a glimmer of hope to Mumbai, they ultimately fell short by 18 runs. Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Andre Russell scalped two wickets apiece for the hosts.

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Who can be the second team after KKR to clinch IPL 2024 playoffs spot?

Two exciting games are lined up on Sunday in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Chennai Super Kings will face the challenge of Rajasthan Royals in the afternoon game, while the Royal Challengers Bengaluru lock horns with Delhi Capitals in the second game.

If the Royals manage to prevail over the Super Kings, they will confirm their playoff qualification. However, they will remain in the second spot due to inferior run-rate than KKR, unless they have a dominating victory. In the night game, the team losing the clash will be eliminated from the IPL 2024 playoffs race.

It will be interesting to see the results of both games, which will have an impact on the teams cementing their place in the playoffs.