Consolation win for Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders signed off from the third edition of Indian Premier League with a consolation win over title-contenders Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday.
The home team won the dead rubber by wickets nine with their beleaguered captain Sourav Ganguly and out of sort Brendan Mccullum coming to the party with some lusty blows against an understrength Mumbai that rested as many as five first-choice players including champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
Chasing Mumbai's modest 133, Knight Riders cruised to 135 in 17.3 overs with Sourav hitting a 36-ball 42 that contained four fours and two sweetly-timed sixes.
McCullum struck an unbeaten 57, his first fifty in the tournament.
The defeat however meant little for Mumbai, the first team to have made it to the semifinals.
They will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first semifinal on April 21. Chennai Super Kings will face Deccan Chargers in the second semis on April 22. The final is billed on April 25. All the three matches will take place in Mumbai.
Back in game, Knight Riders, the only team that has failed to make it into the last four in three IPL seasons so far, played only for pride as soon as Dwayne Bravo, leading Mumbai in the absence of a resting Tendulkar, chose to bat. If Kolkata had batted first and beat Mumbai Indians by around 175 runs, they could have improved their net run-rate so much as to take them into the last four.
SCORES IN BRIEF
MUMBAI INDIANS: 133 for 8 (Tiwary 46, Kartik 2-20, Bond 2-24)
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS: 135 for 1 in 17.3 overs (McCullum 57 not out, Ganguly 46)
Result: Kolkata won by nine wickets.
Man-of-the-match: Murali Kartik