After losing to MI at the Wankhede Stadium since 2012, KKR’s winless record came to an end as they defeated Hardik Pandya’s struggling team by 24 runs in a low-scoring match.
Influence of DreRuss
The fourth ball of the 14th over, which moved Suryakumar Yadav from 40 to 46 (yes, it was a free hit), may have given Mumbai Indians optimism despite the fact that it was a spectacular shot over point. By the time Vaibhav Arora’s over was complete, SKY was chasing Kolkata’s 169 runs with 54 off just 31 balls.
With the bat, Andre Russell didn’t have a memorable night. He lasted just two deliveries and was kept back till the 17th over despite the batting collapse. But being a great all-around player has its drawbacks. Perhaps the most significant blow of the evening was delivered by the West Indies star, who was beginning to appear dangerous. A well-placed Suryakumar could have easily been reached with a low full toss, but Phil Salt caught the attempted pick-up shot.
He had also put an end to Hardik Pandya’s innings a few overs earlier with a delivery that halted on him. At the Wankhede Stadium, KKR’s 12-year winless streak against MI was broken by two significant wickets.
After a difficult return to the IPL, Mitch Starc enjoyed a memorable night in addition to Russell. Starc shrugged and moved back to his spot after Ishan Kishan smacked him for a four and a six in the opening over. But he picked up the tempo a few kph on the next ball and uprooted Ishan’s leg stump. After being hammered for a six, he returned at the end of the innings to clean up the MI lower-order, taking three wickets in the 19th over, including that of Tim David. The Australian sensation scored a 4/33 and maybe gave one of his loudest roars of the season.
India’s worries
Prior to discussing the problems facing the Mumbai Indians, the captain and vice captain of India’s T20 World Cup had yet another unremarkable evening. Although Rohit Sharma had a strong start to the season, his batting performance has declined recently, as he has only scored 29 runs in the last four innings. Although the pitch was difficult to bat on, Rohit was far too cautious at the beginning of the chase when he had the opportunity to try to break the shackles and put more pressure on KKR. But in trying to take on Sunil Narine, he failed.
Lower in the order, Hardik Pandya followed up his duck in the previous Lucknow encounter by lasting just 3 balls for 1 run. More than what they have been accustomed to this season, Indians supporters will be looking for greater rewards. At the conclusion, Hardik remarked, “A lot of questions to answer, but right now not much to say.” Yes, that is true.
Dreadful power plays
MI needed early wickets against the flowing openers of KKR. In the opening over, Thushara struck to get rid of Phil Salt. He removed KKR captain Shreyas Iyer and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (who had appeared threatening during his short stay) in the third over, both of them finding the fielders inside the circle with pinpoint accuracy. He concluded the powerplay with 2-0-25-3 and held KKR at bay, but they managed to reach 57/4 due to their overall aggressiveness.
When Venkatesh and Manish steadied the ship in the 14th over of the innings, MI gave Bumrah his second over, while KKR maintained pressure in the middle overs with their finest bowlers. Later, Shreyas disclosed that the veteran of Karnataka had been waiting for his chance, and that when the team was having problems, they ultimately chose to bring him in as an Impact Player. That collaboration ultimately proved beneficial.
