A second-strength Mumbai Indians, with six changes and without Lasith Malinga or Jasprit Bumrah, successfully defended a total of 173/5 and continued their mastery over the Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Mumbai’s slow start (79/2 in 10 overs) was quickly forgotten as Ambati Rayudu hit a special half-century to take his team to 173/5 in their 20 overs. In response, Kolkata seemed to be in a tearing hurry. Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan all holed out and KKR had lost hal their side in 8.6 overs. Manish Pandey and Colin de Grandhomme tried to repair the damage and took KKR close but Mumbai held their nerve at the death to clinch victory and take the top spot.

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Kolkata have qualified for the playoffs as well but this loss means they will not be finishing in the top two. This was also their first loss while chasing at their home venue since 2012.

Mumbai test their bench strength

With Sunrisers Hyderabad clinching a playoffs spot by beating Gujarat Lions and hence giving Mumbai the knowledge that they were guaranteed a top-two spot, Rohit Sharma decided to drastically change his team around. Lasith Malinga, Parthiv Patel, Nitish Rana, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasrprit Bumrah and Harbhajan Singh were given a breather. In their place, came in Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Vinay Kumar, Tim Southee and Mitchell Johnson. A good strategy to rest their big guns.

Saurabh Tiwary grabs the opportunity, just about

Saurabh Tiwary made an impact on his first match this season. Image credit: Prashant Bhoot/IPL/Sportzpics

Tiwary grabbed the opportunity, just about. The 27-year-old, appearing in his first IPL match, this season played a strange little knock, some huge hits mixed between dot balls. Some of his power shone through in nine fours, two of them in the 15th over but he also had 25 dots in his 43 balls. He did score a half-century, 52 to be exact, but here’s some context: it was the joint-slowest fifty this IPL season.

But Rayudu takes the cake

Ambati Rayudu turns it on. Image credit: Ron Gaunt/IPL/Sportpicz

But the man who grabbed his chance with both hands was Ambati Rayudu, who was a mainstay in this Mumbai team but has been relegated to the sidelines this season. He started slow and reached 25 in 22 balls with two fours. Mumbai were 79/2 after their first 10 but added 94 in their last ten (55 in their last five) and it was Rayudu who turned it around, beginning his assault in the 16th over. He hammered 38 in the next five overs, off just 15 balls, thrashing KKR’s bowlers around for four more boundaries and three sixes.

KKR go for broke, shoot themselves in the foot

It was difficult to understand KKR’s tactics. They came out to go hell for leather, as if they were chasing 200 when they were only chasing 173. Sunil Narine went for a rare duck but Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn rattled on and added 41 in 27 balls. But in an over where he had already hit Mitchell Johnson for a six, he pulled again two balls to get a top-edge and was dismissed. Robin Uthappa played out four balls for two runs and tried to ambitiously loft a straight ball from Karn Sharma over cover and holed out. Chris Lynn hit a half-tracker from Vinay Kumar straight to the fielder.

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But Yusuf Pathan offered the most exasperation. He was lucky to get a six off the first ball he faced, the ball racing off the edge into the third man boundary. He smashed Karn Sharma for four, six and six. And then next over, he went again and holed out to long-on.

Yusuf Pathan blazed away but it ended too quickly for KKR's liking. Image credit: Ron Gaunt/IPL/Sportzpics

Colin de Grandhomme, Manish Pandey provide the pause

Manish Pandey and Colin de Grandhomme tried a repair job but they were left with too much to do. Image credit: Prashant Bhoot/IPL/Sportzpics

After all that sound and fury, it was done to Manish Pandey and Colin de Grandhomme to provide some pause and show how it should have been done. The two played sensible cricket, mixing boundaries with singles in a 41-run partnership in 31 balls. But just when they had put the chase back on course, Hardik Pandya dismissed Colin de Grandhomme. After a spell of dry overs, Pandey hit a few quick runs and got KKR closer but holed out at deep mid-wicket. If only some of their earlier players had showed some sensibility.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 173/5 in 20 overs (Ambati Rayudu 63, Saurabh Tiwary 52; Trent Boult 2/30, Ankit Rajpoot 1/14) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 164/8 in 20 overs (Manish Pandey 33, Colin de Grandhomme 29; Hardik Pandya 2/22, Vinay Kumar 2/31) by nine runs.