IPL 2021 | Kolkata Knight Riders fourth and final team to qualify for playoffs despite Mumbai Indians' heroics
Two-time defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) were knocked out of IPL 2021 after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) denied Rohit Sharma's team a 171 or more run win which could have helped them leapfrog Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to become fourth and final team to qualify for the playoff stage.
IPL 2021 playoff berths are booked after MI failed to beat SRH by 171 or more runs in their last league match in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Notably, the two-time defending champions needed the aforementioned margin of victory to imporveĀ their Net Run Rate (NRR) and pip KKR to become the fourth and final team to qualify for the playoffs.Ā
Batting first, Ishan Kishan (84 off 32) and Suryakumar Yadav (82 off 40) fired MumbaiĀ to 235/9 in 20 overs - their highest ever total - butĀ could not bundle out SRH for 65, thereby making it impossibleĀ for them to match up the playoffs criteria at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Eventually, MI won the match by 42 runs but it was Eoin Morgan's KKR which moved ahead in theĀ league.Ā
Delhi Capitals (DC) topped the points table and will meet second-placed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Qualifier 1 on Sunday. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who finished third after 8 wins in 13 matches, will face KKR in Eliminator on Monday. The winner from the RCB versus KKR match will meet the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2 on Wedesday.Ā
SRH finished at the bottom (eighth) while Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) finished sixth and seventh respectively on the 8-team points table of IPL 14.Ā