Mumbai Indians defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders by 49 runs on Wednesday, 23 September to register their maiden win of the 13th Indian Premier League (IPL).
MI captain Rohit Sharma's masterful 80 helped the defending champions post 195/5 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Mumbai then successfully defended their total, restricting Dinesh Karthik-led KKR to 146/9.
Three-time champions MI had lost their campaign opener to Chennai Super Kings by five wickets. This was Kolkata’s first game of the season.
Fast bowler Shivam Mavi picked up his maiden IPL wicket early, removing Quinton de Kock for a 3-ball 1 in the second over. Suryakumar Yadav (28-ball 47) joined his skipper and the pair ended up giving Mumbai Indians a dominant start.
Rohit and Suryakumar put up 90 for the second wicket, before the latter fell while going for a risky double. Rohit then stitched a 49-run stand with Saurabh Tiwary and added 30 runs with Hardik Pandya (13-ball 18).
Kieron Pollard, playing his 150th match for MI, tried to milk as many runs as he could from the last over, scoring 13 from seven balls.
Rohit made the most of the repeated short pitched deliveries that were bowled to him by the KKR bowlers, who had a forgettable day in the middle. His knock included six sixes and four boundaries.
None of the KKR batsman managed to make a mark in the innings. The two-time champions were reeling at 25/2 after losing openers Shubman Gill (7) and Sunil Narine (9) early.
Captain Karthik looked in good form but scored just 30 runs before getting out LBW to Rahul Chahar. Jasprit Bumrah removed Andre Russell (11) and Eoin Morgan (16) in the 16th over, reducing KKR to 101/6, still needing 93 runs from 26 balls.
With the ball, Pat Cummins – the most expensive international buy in the IPL – was creamed for 49 runs in three overs. But with the bat, the KKR pacer smashed a quickfire a 12-ball 33 – the highest score of the innings.
Bumrah's figures were spoilt by Cummins, who hit four sixes in the 18th over that he bowled. He ended with figures of 2/32 while Trent Boult (2/30), James Pattinson (2/25) and Chahar (2/26) all took two wickets each.
Match-Winning Knock
Opener Sharma’s knock set the base for a big total that Mumbai Indians then successfully defended. Despite the fall of wickets around him, the 33-year-old nearly played through the innings for his side, falling to Pat Cummins only in the 18th over.
However, in spite of his sublime knock, there were still murmurs around the batsman’s fitness levels on the internet.
The waistlines of some cricketers has been a topic of discussion since the start of the league, with people criticising the lack of fitness among players post a break in international cricket due to COVID-19.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)