Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders to enter IPL final

 

Photo: iplt20.com Bengaluru: Mumbai Indians registered thumping victory by 6 wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders to cement their place in the IPL finals. Mumbai will now lock horns with Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday in a bid to clinch their third IPL title. Chasing a lowly total of 108 runs, Mumbai lost three quick wickets but Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya stitched 54-run styand for the 5th wicket. Krunal Pandya remained unbeaten with 45 runs in 30 deliveries while Rohit played a gutsy knock of 26 runs off 24 balls. The 30-year-old India international became the first Mumbai Indians player to cross 3000 run mark. Piyush Chawla grabbed two wickets while Umesh took one but their efforts were not enough to take Kolkata Knight Riders home. Earlier,  Mumbai Indians bowled out Kolkata Knight Riders for 107 in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here tonight. Opting to bowl after skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss, Mumbai Indians had KKR on the mat at 31 for five in the seventh over. However, a 56-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Suryakumar Yadav (31) and Ishank Jaggi (28) steadied KKR's sinking ship, before leg spinner Karn Sharma struck for the fourth time on the night. Sharma returned excellent figures of 4/16 from four overs, while Jasprit Bumrah had equally great figures of 3/7 in three overs, as KKR were all out in 18.5 overs. The 29-year-old Sharma sent back Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, KKR captain Gautam Gambhir and Ishank Jaggi at the M Chinnaswami Stadium. Jaggi's dismissal in the 15th came as a relief for MI as the batsman had whipped Lasith Malinga for two boundaries in the previous over and was starting to look threatening. Suryakumar Yadav struck two boundaries and a six while facing 25 balls.