Rahul Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer dazzled with the bat as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by seven wickets.
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kept their dominant run of form in the UAE leg going against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Thursday, recording their first win in the last five encounters between the sides. It was the second match for both franchises after the restart of the 2021 edition of the IPL. With the victory, KKR moved into the play-off places on the table. The defending champions had only managed to score 155 runs in their 20 overs and the men in purple had no problem chasing it down. The MI innings finished at 155-6 in 20 overs while KKR’s score was 159-3 after just 15.1 overs. KKR was the team in command throughout the second innings and it was quite reminiscent of when the two sides faced off in the first leg of the competition. The Knight Riders had lost that match from what was a strong position. This time around, however, the men in purple held their nerve and recorded only their seventh victory against MI.
The men in purple’s charge was led by two batters on the day. Rahul Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer displayed an outstanding batting performance to help their team finally make it into one of the play-off places this season. Iyer scored 53 runs off just 30 deliveries in an innings that comprised four boundaries and three sixes. Tripathi remained unbeaten on 74 off just 42 deliveries. He struck eight boundaries and three sixes.
When one looks at the MI bowling lineup on the day, they would be pretty unimpressed. Jasprit Bumrah did take three wickets but the match was so one-sided that it did not have any effect at all. The pacer conceded 43 runs in his four overs so it was not the best bowling display he could have hoped for. No one, apart from him, managed to get a wicket for the men in blue.
Morgan won the toss and chose to field on the Abu Dhabi track. The MI openers did an excellent job at the start of the innings, forming a solid partnership. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock put on a 78-run stand, and it appeared that MI’s dominance over KKR would be repeated. However, the MI captain was dismissed on 33, and things were a little off track since then.
De Kock, on the other hand, did an excellent job of holding the fort from one end. He scored 55 runs from 42 balls. Suryakumar Yadav, who was dismissed on five, was a letdown against his former team. Ishan Kishan scored 14 runs, but he did so slowly. Kieran Pollard’s cameo of 21 runs from 15 deliveries lifted lift MI’s total to a respectable level.
Morgan will be pleased with the performance of his bowlers on the day. The bowling was effective and economical. Pacers Lockie Ferguson and Prasidh Krishna were the most successful, each taking two wickets. The Kiwi gave up 27 runs, while Krishna was costly with 43. Sunil Narine took a wicket and allowed only 20 runs in four overs. Varun Chakravarthy did not have a wicket on the day, but he bowled a tight spell of spin. In his four overs, he allowed only 22 runs.
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