Kolkata needed a victory to book the fourth and last spot in the playoffs but they came nowhere close to getting at least a foot into the playoffs by another pathetic batting display.
Kolkata’s defeat opened the door for Sunrisers Hyderabad to clinch the playoff spot on better net run rate after both teams finished on 12 points each.
Chennai, who earlier lost to Kings XI Punjab in a match of little importance as the former had already booked a berth in the playoffs and the latter out of the running, finished second, also on 18 points but an inferior net run rate, and the Delhi Capitals third, also on 18 points.
Batting first, Kolkata were restricted to 133 for seven with Chris Lynn (41 off 29) and Robin Uthappa (40 off 47) the only notable contributors while Lasith Malinga (3-35), Hardik Pandya (2-20) and Jasprit Bumbrah (2-31) the successful bowlers.
In response, Mumbai started the chase on an aggressive note and finished off the match with 23 deliveries and nine wickets in hand with Quinton de Kock (23 off 30), Rohit Sharma (55* off 48) and Suryakumar Yadav (46* off 27) making light of a modest target.
In the earlier match in Chandigarh, KL Rahul’s scintillating 36-ball-71 paved the way for a consolation six-wicket victory for Kings XI Punjab.
With nothing to lose in their final game of the season, Rahul, Chris Gayle (28 off 28 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (36 off 22 balls) were the key contributors in Punjab’s successful chase of 171 in 18 overs.
However, CSK were happy with a net run rate of +0.131 which was far better than Delhi’s (+0.044) and ensured a top-two finish and two clear shots at summit clash .
Such was Rahul’s domination that Gayle’s run-a-ball knock paled in comparison as the duo added 108 runs in only 10.3 overs to seal the match.
Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh bagged three wickets but it was at the cost of 57 runs in four overs.
Missed
Earlier, Faf du Plessis missed out on a well-deserved hundred by four runs as Punjab bowled well at the death to restrict Chennai to 170 for five.
Du Plessis’ 96 off 55 balls and his 120-run stand with Suresh Raina (53 off 38 balls) set the platform for the defending champions.
However Sam Curran (3-35) and Mohammed Shami (2-17 in 3 overs) bowled well in the final few overs as CSK seemed at least 10 runs short of par score.
Du Plessis’ knock had 10 fours and four sixes and was dismissed by a brilliant Curran yorker in the 19th over.
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