Twitter Reactions: Mumbai Indians end the league phase as the table toppers
For his 37-ball 63-run knock, Ambati Rayudu was awarded the Man of the Match.
In what was another nail-biting game at the Eden Gardens between the Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, the visitors went on to win the game by 9 runs. With this win, they end the league phase at the top of the points table. Earlier in the day, it was captain Gautam Gambhir who won the toss as Kolkata elected to bowl first. Trent Boult replaced Chris Woakes in the playing XI.
As for the Mumbai Indians, they made as many as five changes as Saurabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell Johnson and Tim Southee were brought in. While Mumbai lost Lendl Simmons early, Saurabh Tiwary who was playing his first game this year was off to a comfortable start. He went on to score 52 (43). Captain Rohit Sharma looked good in his limited stay at the crease.
However, it was Rayudu who outshone the others with a splendid 63 runs from 37 balls. His innings made sure Mumbai Indians had a good total on the board. Kieron Pollard tried to hit his way out but failed to get going as MI ended up scoring 173/5 in their quota of 20 overs. Trent Boult was the pick among the KKR bowlers with figures of 2/30.
For KKR, Sunil Narine was dismissed without troubling the scorers. Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir tried to take things ahead for Kolkata but ended up getting out one after the other. Soon enough, KKR were left reeling at 53/4 with even Robin Uthappa out cheaply.
Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Colin de Grandhomme tried to make a difference as KKR came really close to the target set by Mumbai Indians. However they fell short by 9 runs thanks to some outstanding bowling by the likes of Tim Southee, Hardik Pandya and Mitchell Johnson.
This game was an inconsequential one with both the teams well qualified for the playoffs. However, it was crucial in determining the top 2 spots as they get two chances in the playoffs. Ambati Rayudu was deservingly awarded the man of the match.
Here are some of the amazing Twitter reactions that appeared during the course of the game:
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