The Kolkata Knight Riders bowling unit performed in unison to win a battle of attrition against five-time champions Mumbai Indians by 24 runs in an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. If KKR’s batsmen were guilty of not working out their game plan on the move in the first half to be bowled out for just 169, with Venkatesh Iyer contributing 70, Mumbai Indians’ underperforming batsmen would have stood no chance on a tricky wicket that It required application and patience. They made 145 in 18.5 overs and are practically out of the competition, which has been a nightmare for Hardik Pandya.
A memorable victory for @KKRiders
They deliver solid performance to surpass the #MI challenge
Performance table https://t.co/iWTqcAsT0O#TATAIPL | #MIvKKR pic.twitter.com/YT6MGSdPkj
– IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 3, 2024
It was KKR’s first away win in Mumbai after 12 years and the last time they won at the venue, their main owner Shah Rukh Khan was involved in an argument with the security team which led to him being banned from the venue for the next three years. That year, KKR won the trophy and this victory took them to 14 points and kept them in contention for the top two teams.
Despite Suryakumar Yadav’s brilliant fifty, Mumbai Indians were bowled out for 145 in 18.5 overs chasing 170, found wanting with the bat once again when Mitchell Starc (3.5-0-33-4) cleared the tail to KKR’s seventh win in 10 matches.
Until he edged a full toss from Andre Russell (2/30), Suryakumar looked to be proving the difference between the two sides with a high-quality strike that brought MI back from the brink.
With six fours and two sixes, Suryakumar hit 56 off 35 balls in an innings that kept MI’s hopes alive.
Suryakumar also reduced the equation enough for his team to get over the line after being reduced to 71/6 at one stage.
But none of the MI batsmen came up as KKR came away with a flurry of wickets in the end.
Also impressive was KKR’s spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, producing identical figures of 4-0-22-2 to keep MI’s batsmen under pressure.
After hitting a six and a four off Starc, Ishan Kishan (13) missed a wild shot that resulted in the Australian knocking down leg stump.
Naman Dhir (11) hit two fours early on but also tried to get up and missed with Chakravarthy hitting on his first delivery.
Playing as an impact substitute, Rohit Sharma (11) bowled Starc for a spectacular six over extra cover but couldn’t get it right when he went to pull a short one from Narine.
Manish Pandey covered a fair distance moving backwards to reduce MI to 46 for three in the powerplay.
Chakravarthy ensured a short stay in the middle for MI’s most successful batsman this year when Tilak Varma (4) was caught by Narine at third man.
The flow of wickets pushed MI back and the pressure resulted in more success when Nehal Wadhera (6) got one on his wickets at Narine.
MI captain and India’s vice-captain for the upcoming T20 World Cup Hardik Pandya was booed once again at the home Wankhede Stadium, only to be overcome by the awkward pace off the surface.
Pandya’s innings lasted just two balls as he too, like a few others, was early in his swing which produced a top edge to be grabbed easily.
Earlier, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ aggressive approach went awry on a slow surface when they were bowled out for a paltry 169 despite Venkatesh Iyer’s half-century.
Venkatesh scored 70 off 52 balls, but his selfish attitude of trying to preserve his own wicket by sacrificing pacer Russell certainly cost Shah Rukh Khan’s co-owned side 20 runs, which didn’t end up being costly in the end.
Veteran Pandey scored 42 off 31 balls in a stand of 83 for the sixth wicket with Venkatesh.
Just as the top order was destroyed before the total reached 60, the last five fell to just 29 runs as Jasprit Bumrah (3/18 in 3.5 overs) was too hot to deal with his finger crushers at the death .
On a two-paced wicket that had an awkward delivery coming to bat more slowly than expected, the KKR batsmen were guilty of rushing into their shots and not reading the track well before formulating their plans.
As a result, half of their side were back in the hut in the powerplay without having anything significant on the board.
After the explosive top order cut a sorry figure, Rinku Singh (9) also wasted the opportunity to bat big, forcing KKR to turn to the experienced Pandey as an impact substitute for rescue.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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