IPL, MI vs KKR: MI beat KKR by five runs in Mumbai

The hosts first recovered from a poor start of 79 for four to post 171-4 following a whirlwind knock of 61 not out in 31 balls from Hardik Pandya.

Chasing the score, Knight Riders lost wickets at regular intervals after a bright start of 45 but still were in the hunt for a win and a place in the play-off when they needed 12 runs in the last over bowled by Kieron Pollard.  (FULL REPORT HERE)

The chase, as it happened!

Playing XI

MI: Parthiv Patel (W), Lendl Simmons, Rohit Sharma (C), Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Vinay Kumar

KKR: Robin Uthappa (W), Gautam Gambhir (C), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine

The social buzz of #MIvsKKR

The build up

KKR match almost like a final for us: MI coach Ponting

Emphasising on the importance of Thursday’s IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting termed the clash against the defending champions as a “virtual final” for his team.

Gambhir one of the best captains in IPL: Wasim Akram

Akram was all praise for captain Gautam Gambhir and said he has been aggressive in his outlook right through.

Make-or-break contest

The game at Wankhede on Thursday is nothing short of a quarter-final for the MI if Ricky Ponting is to be believed. The match is a must win for the franchise if they want to repeat the feat of reaching the play offs for the 3rd consecutive time.