The Mumbai Indians met the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator on Wednesday and came out on top to progress to the next stage of the 2011 IPL tournament.

Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and when the umpire called play, the MI bowlers were exceptional and the fielders backed them up with some great catching. When they came out to bat, the batsmen were in great touch. Despite all that, MI managed to get themselves into a sticky situation towards the end, needing seven off the final over.

This time, Gautam Gambhir tossed the ball to Shakib Al Hasan and not Lakshmipathy Balaji. The result was no different. However, it took only two balls on this occasion. MI defeated Kolkata Knight Riders, for the second time in as many games, by four wickets. The finisher: Harbhajan Singh with a huge six over mid-wicket.

Now, MI play Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai in the second qualifier on Friday.

Put in to bat, KKR lost four wickets with just 22 on board. Munaf Patel was the destroyer-in-chief as he got Jacques Kallis, Sreevats Goswami and Yusuf Pathan.

Given the situation, Pathan had to sacrifice his natural game and drop anchor with Ryan ten Doeschate. The two put on 60 for the fifth wicket before Pathan was caught on long on by the athletic Kieron Pollard for 26. Doeschate played till the end scoring 70* off 49 and strung together useful partnerships with Shakib Al Hasan and Brett Lee to help KKR to 147 for seven.

MI came out all guns blazing with Tendulkar and Aiden Blizzard finding the boundary at will without taking any risks at all. The two made batting look very easy as MI brought up their 50 in the fifth over. All the KKR bowlers were struggling, including the economical Lee and the successful left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, with Tendulkar making himself at home on his home ground.

Blizzard was caught off Brett Lee for 51 and both Rohit Sharma and Tendulkar followed in quick succession. But the openers had done enough to pull down the asking rate to below six an over. Despite another blow (Rayudu given caught behind), and the big-hitting Pollard departing cheaply, James Franklin was joined by the lion-hearted Harbhajan Singh who did it for his side. All this despite some good bowling late in the game by Kallis, who got two for 18 in his four overs.

With this victory, MI have not only given themselves another shot at the IPL title, but also secured a place in Champions League T20 to be played later this year. On the other hand, KKR, who have put up their best showing in IPL this year, will have to wait till the IPL 2012 to see some action.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 147/7 in 20 overs (Ryan ten Doeschate 70*, Yusuf Pathan 26, Munaf Patel 3/27) lost to Mumbai Indians 148/6 (Aiden Blizzard 51, Sachin Tendulkar 36, Jacques Kallis 2/18) by four wickets.

MoM: Munaf Patel for his spell of 4-0-27-3 that left the Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting line-up reeling

Source: iplt20.com

Pic: espncricinfo.com