The bowling unit of Kolkata Knight Riders performed together to win a war of attrition against five-time champions Mumbai Indians by 24 runs in an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Had KKR batters been guilty of not working out their game plan on the road in the first half to be bowled out for just 169 with Venkatesh Iyer for 70, Mumbai Indians' underperforming batsmen would have had no chance on a tricky wicket that bet both as patience required. . They were all out for 145 in 18.5 overs and are practically out of the competition, which was a nightmare for Hardik Pandya.
A memorable victory for @KKRiders
They round off a solid performance to move past the #MI challenge
Scorecard 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 principal owner Shah Rukh Khan was involved in a feud with security personnel, leading to his ban from the venue for the next three years. That year KKR won the trophy and this win took them to 14 points and kept them in contention for a finish among the top two teams.
Despite Suryakumar Yadav's brilliant fifty, Mumbai Indians were bowled out for 145 in 18.5 overs, chasing 170, which again left something to be desired as Mitchell Starc (3.5-0-33-4) cleared the tail for KKR's seventh win in 10 games.
Going on top after a full toss from Andre Russell (2/30), Suryakumar looked to prove the difference between the two sides with a top quality knock that brought MI back from the brink.
With six fours and two sixes, Suryakumar made 56 off 35 balls in an innings that kept MI's hopes alive.
Suryakumar also brought the equation down enough for his side to cross the line after being reduced to 71/6 at one point.
But none of the MI batters raised their hands as KKR ran away with the match with a flurry of wickets towards the end.
Also impressive was KKR's spin duo Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, who produced identical figures of 4-0-22-2 to keep the MI batters under the pump.
After hitting a six and a four off Starc, Ishan Kishan (13) missed a wild heave that knocked over the Australian's leg stump.
Naman Dhir (11) hit two fours to start but he also went for a heave and missed when Chakravarthy struck on his first delivery.
Playing as an impact sub, Rohit Sharma (11) set up Starc for a spectacular six over extra cover but failed to make good contact as he went to pull a short one from Narine.
Manish Pandey covered some good distance going backwards to reduce MI to 46 for three in the powerplay.
Chakravarthy provided a brief stay in the middle for MI's most successful batsman this year when he had Tilak Varma (4) caught by Narine at short third man.
The flurry of wickets pushed MI onto the back foot and the pressure resulted in further success when Nehal Wadhera (6) hooked one on his wickets of Narine.
MI skipper and India vice-captain for the upcoming T20 World Cup Hardik Pandya once again walked out to loud cheers at the Wankhede Stadium but was outmatched by the uncomfortable pace on the surface.
Pandya's innings lasted just two balls as he too, like a few others, got into his shot early, producing a top edge that was easily taken.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders' aggressive approach hit a slow surface as they were bowled out for a paltry 169 despite Venkatesh Iyer's half-century.
Venkatesh scored 70 off 52 balls, but his selfish attitude to keep his own wicket by sacrificing enforcer Russell cost Shah Rukh Khan's co-owner at least 20 runs, which ultimately proved to be inexpensive.
Veteran Pandey scored 42 off 31 balls in a stand of 83 for the sixth wicket with Venkatesh.
Just as the top order was blown away before the total reached 60, the last five fell for just 29 runs as Jasprit Bumrah (3/18 in 3.5 overs) was too hot to deal with his toe breakers at the death.
On a two-pace wicket, with the odd delivery coming onto the bat slower than expected, KKR batters were guilty of rushing their shots and not reading the track properly before formulating their plans.
The result was that half of their squad was back in the hut on the power play with nothing major on the board.
After the explosive top order returned a dismal figure, Rinku Singh (9) also squandered a chance to hit big, forcing KKR to turn to the experienced Pandey as an impact sub for rescue.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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