IPL week seven: KKR make playoffs, CSK and RCB stay alive

The past week of IPL 2024 matches saw Kolkata Knight Riders become the first team to qualify for the playoffs, while five-time winners Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings eliminated, defending champions Chennai Super Kings moved to third place and Royal Challengers Bengaluru continued their remarkable comeback to occupy fifth spot on the points table. 

KKR to top, then qualify for playoffs

After spending most of the season in the shadow of Rajasthan Royals,  Kolkata Knight Riders scored big to defeat Lucknow Super Giants by 98 runs and go to the top of the table as the week started. And as it ended, they became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs. 

KKR made 235/ 6 in their 20 overs and smashed hosts LSG to level with RR on 16 points, but went ahead by virtue of a superior net run rate. No surprises that the hero of the day for KKR was their in-form opener Sunil Narine who continued his impressive batting form with a 39-ball 81. Narine hit seven sixes and six fours, added 61 runs off 26 deliveries with fellow opener Phil Salt who made 32 off 14 balls. The Impact player Angkrish Raghuvanshi contributed 32, captain Shreyas Iyer hit 23 and Ramandeep Singh smashed three sixes in his six-ball 25 not out at the death to give KKR their sixth 200-plus total this season and it was far too much for a stumbling LSG line-up that was bowled out for 137 runs in 16.1 overs. 

Up against Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens in a rain-shortened match on Saturday, KKR made 157 with Narine and Salt falling in the span of the first seven deliveries, but defended with gusto to edge MI by 18 runs. Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy and use of Narine, Varun Chakravarty and Harshit Rana was exceptional, and bore the imprint of KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir. 

SRH openers bludgeon 167 in 9.4 overs

LSG’s woes continued when they went to Hyderabad, where hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad hammered them by 10 wickets with 62 balls remaining. It was a perfect 31st birthday gift from the SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to their skipper Pat Cummins, who combined to defeat LSG by 10 wickets in a partnership of 167 off just 58 deliveries. 

Chasing a target of 166 to beat LSG, SRH got the job done in just 9.4 overs to record the highest ever 10-over score in men’s T20 cricket, with Australia’s World Cup final hero Head smashing 89 off just 30 balls and his opening partner Abhishek finishing on 75 from 28. This astonishing chase put in the shade the brilliance of Head and Abhishek’s earlier exploits at the top of the order when batting first, and sets SRH up as serious contenders for the IPL title. The pair that had already put on a world-record 125 in the Powerplay overs against Delhi Capitals, put on 107 inside the first six overs in Hyderabad and knocked off their target of 166 before the ten-over mark. Head’s unbeaten 89 contained eight sixes, while 23-year-old Abhishek hit six of his own maximums to record his best score of the season. 

Rahul’s blank look after the match finished summed up what had happened: “I’m lost for words. We’ve watched that batting on TV – but that was unreal. Everything was hitting the middle of the bat, kudos to their skill.” 

The result also confirmed Mumbai Indians’ elimination from the playoffs race. 

CSK do enough to stay in contention

A fine all-round performance from Ravindra Jadeja helped Chennai Super Kings beat Punjab Kings by 28 runs – believe it or not, this was CSK’s first win over PBKS in five matches – before CSK added another victory to end the week at third on the points table. 

Having been asked to bat by Sam Curran, CSK were indebted to Ravindra Jadeja who scored 43 runs off 26 balls to anchor the innings to 167/9 in Dharamsala. The allrounder then took 3/20 in four overs to help restrict Punjab’s chase to 139/9 for his best all-round game of the season, and it came at the right time given the fight CSK faced to remain in the top four looking at the playoffs. 

After a surprise loss to tenth-ranked Gujarat Titans, CSK got back to winning ways with a five-wicket victory over Rajasthan on Sunday, thanks to three wickets from Simarjeet Singh and a vital 41-ball unbeaten 42 from Ruturaj Gaikwad. CSK now have 14 points, the same as fourth-placed SRH but with a better net run-rate. 

Green shines as RCB keep the dream alive

For a dysfunctional franchise that spent most of the first month of IPL at last place, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have upended predictions by winning five matches in a row. A 60-run hammering of PBKS was followed by a 47-run win over DC on Sunday, which put RCB on 12 points and still in the fray for the playoffs. 

At the core of RCB’s two wins this past week was the Australian allrounder Cameron Green who has begun to show why the franchise wanted him so badly. Against PBKS, after a superb 92 off 47 deliveries from Virat Kohli, Green scored his highest knock of the tournament, a very fine 46 off 27 balls to get his team to 241/7 off their 20 overs. 

Then on Sunday, Green scored a crucial 32* off 34 balls in RCB’s 187/9 after Rajat Patidar made 52 of 32 and Will Jacks 41 off 29, and then took a wicket with his medium pace as well as a thrilling run-out to get the dangerous Tristan Stubbs. 

At a position that seemed improbable three weeks ago after RCB lost to KKR by one run, this team has a chance to end on 14 points when they meet CSK on the weekend, with some help from other sides.