A half-century from Brendon McCullum and a solid batting performance from Sourav Ganguly helped Kolkata finish their campaign in the IPL with a resounding nine-wicket win over Mumbai.
Kolkata had an outside chance of overtaking Bangalore and sneaking into the semi-finals on a superior net run rate, but never looked like achieving the improbable winning margin of 175 runs.
Mumbai had rested several of their top players, including regular captain Sachin Tendulkar, and were rescued by useful knocks from Saurabh Tiwary (46) and Ambati Rayudu (27) following a top-order failure after stand-in captain Dwayne Bravo elected to bat.
However, their total of 133 for eight was easily overhauled as McCullum (57 not out) and Ganguly (42) put on 97 for the opening wicket as the Kolkata won with 15 deliveries to spare.
Shane Bond had rattled Mumbai with wickets in successive overs with the new ball, but Saurabh and JP Duminy (19) revived the visitors with a 63-run stand.
Duminy had provided the initial thrust by hitting Ganguly for a four and a six in his first over, but it was Tiwary who dominated the stand as he regularly found the boundary.
After that initial burst, Duminy struggled to put bat to ball and eventually departed for a laborious 27-ball 19 and Mimbai's innings then unravelled after Saurabh departed two balls later.
Rayudu, who was run out off the last delivery of the innings, chipped in with a handy 27 down the order.
Ganguly and McCullum then gave Kolkata a strong start to the chase and the duo then settled down to build a substantial opening partnership.
Ganguly, reprieved on 22, fell just short of a half-century when he miscued a pull shot to Bravo, but McCullum continued to bat sensibly and reached his half-century - his third in the IPL - off 52 deliveries.
Mumbai take on Bangalore in the first semi-final on Wednesday, while defending champions Hyderabad meet Chennai in the second semi on Thursday.
Courtesy of http://www.espnstar.com
