View source for Kolkata Beats Rajasthan To Close In On IPL Playoffs

<br>SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Kolkata Knight Riders closed in on a spot in the Indian Premier League playoffs after recording an emphatic 86-run win against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.<br> <br>The result left defending champions Mumbai Indians needing a miraculous 171-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday to surpass Kolkata´s healthy net run-rate of 0.587.<br> <br>Kolkata finished the league stage with 14 points, which also eliminated Punjab Kings who had earlier beaten Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in Dubai.<br> <br>The opening pair of Shubman Gill (56) and Venkatesh Iyer (38) laid a solid foundation for Kolkata´s strong total of 171-4 after Rajsthan skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to field.<br> <br>Fast bowlers Shivam Mavi (4-21) and Lockie Ferguson (3-18) then decimated Rajasthan for 85 all out in 16.1 overs -- the lowest team total in this IPL season.<br> <br>Rahul Tewatia (44) was one of the two Rajasthan batters to reach double figures before he was the last man to get dismissed when Mavi clean bowled the left-hander.<br> <br>"I don´t think it could have got better," Kolkata skipper Eoin Morgan said.<br><br>"Gill and Iyer have been our shining light. I am not too attached to things as to what will happen and what won´t happen. ... We have done everything tonight and we deserved to win."<br> <br>Earlier, KL Rahul smashed an unbeaten 98 off 42 balls and helped Punjab retain slim playoff hopes with 12 points.<br>Despite defeat on Thursday, Chennai was certain to finish among the top two as they finished league stage with 18 points.<br> <br>Tournament top-scorer Rahul just missed a maiden century in this IPL but hammered eight sixes and seven boundaries to overhaul Chennai´s 134-6 with 139-4 and seven overs to spare.<br> <br>Rahul has hit six half-centuries and scored 626 runs at an impressive average of 62.60 in the tournament.<br> <br>Fast bowlers Deepak Chahar (1-48) and Dwayne Bravo (0-32) were smacked for 80 runs off six overs as Rahul unleashed an array of shots.<br> <br>Earlier,  [http://slavicchronicles.com/forums/users/mikaylav54/edit/?updated=true/users/mikaylav54/ slavicchronicles.com] after being sent into bat, Chennai´s top order crumbled against seamers Chris Jordan (2-20) and Arshdeep Singh (2-35).<br> <br>Faf du Plessis made 76 off 55 balls and Ravindra Jadeja 15.<br><br>They combined in a 67-run partnership after Chennai was 61-5 in the 12th over when legspinner Ravi Bishnoi clean-bowled captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for 12.<br> <br>___<br> <br>More AP sports: website and website