KKR vs MI: "I manifested this" - Shreyas Iyer on KKR becoming first team to qualify for IPL 2024 playoffs

Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were the hosts of the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 60th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Saturday, May 11 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The game began late due to a rain delay and it was a 16-over-a-side contest, which saw KKR register a total of 157/7 with Venkatesh Iyer (42), Nitish Rana (33), Andre Russell (24), and Rinku Singh (20) chipping in with good contributions. For Mumbai Indians, Jasprit Bumrah (2), Piyush Chawla (2), Nuwan Thusara (1), and Anshul Kamboj (1) were among the wickets.

Defending the total, Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers managed to stop Rohit Sharma from firing but Ishan Kishan took them to the cleaners. However, Sunil Narine broke the opening partnership which opened the floodgates, and Mumbai Indians were reduced to 92/5. Eventually, Varun Chakravarthy (2), Andre Russell (2), Harshit Rana (2) and Sunil Narine (1) did a brilliant job in the match and restricted MI to 139/8 to win the match by 18 runs and qualify for the playoffs.

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At the post-match presentation ceremony, Shreyas Iyer said that he manifested that the Kolkata Knight Riders would become the first side to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs. Shreyas Iyer said:

"I think I manifested this before the game (on becoming the 1st side to qualify for the playoffs). Nerves were there, boys have been raising their hands and there have been many game-changers and kudos to each and every one of them."

Shreyas Iyer further said that Mumbai Indians did a great job in the first six overs but Kolkata Knight Riders made a terrific comeback in the match. He stated:

"I feel whichever team plays the best, they got a great chance to win. They were going at great guns in the first 6 overs, and to bounce back from that situation it was nice to see. I wasn't thinking about stats or records, the weather wasn't great but we won the game and that's what is more important."

When asked about his decisions to hand more overs to Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana over Sunil Narine and Mitchell Starc, Shreyas Iyer said:

"It's all about understanding which bowler is doing well on that particular day, I feel both of them bowled well and my gut went with Varun (on bowling the 4th over) at that point and I backed him."

Kolkata Knight Riders' Current Position In IPL 2024 Standings

Ahead of their match against the Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders were at the No.1 position on the Indian Premier League 2024 points table. Out of 11 matches, Kolkata Knight Riders won 8 and lost 3 matches. With 16 points in their bag, they had a Net Run Rate of 1.453.

Notably, Kolkata Knight Riders have had a stellar campaign in IPL 2024 and they have played an amazing brand of cricket. Both the bowling and batting unit of the team have delivered exceptional performances and played key roles in the team's tremendous success under the coaching of Chandrakant Pandit and Abhishek Nayar as well as the mentorship of Gautam Gambhir.

Talking about their position in the Indian Premier League 2024 standings after the match against Mumbai Indians, the two-time IPL champions have retained the same position.

Kolkata Knight Riders will be next seen in action when they lock horns with the IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans on Monday, May 13 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in the 63rd match of the ongoing season.