The Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to show everyone that they still got what it takes to compete in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
The Knight Riders achieved an extensive 52-run win over the Mumbai Indians on Monday at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. They displayed outstanding performance on the field, successfully defended a total of 165 runs and earned their fifth victory of the season.
The pacers performed admirably with the ball as the Knight Riders got off to a flying start while defending the total.
Bowler Tim Southee dismissed Mumbai Captain Rohit Sharma for 2 off 6 balls before allrounder Andre Russell dismissed batting allrounder Tilak Verma and batter Ramandeep Singh to pile pressure on the Mumbai batting line-up.
Wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan held one end of the top edge with a rugged 51 off 43 balls but was unable to find support from the other end, as batter Tim David and allrounder Kieron Pollard both fell short.
Mumbai was bundled out for 113 runs and lost the game by 52 runs, their ninth defeat of the season.
With the much-needed victory, the Knight Riders moved up two places to seventh place in the standings, keeping them in contention for the playoffs this season. Mumbai is still at the bottom of the table, with only four points from 11 games this season.
Not stopping here
When the Knight Riders batted first, they scored 165 runs. They had made five modifications to their side. Allrounder Venkatesh Iyer and top order batter Ajinkya Rahane have reclaimed the top spot. They scored 60 runs in the first 5.4 overs.
Kolkata captain Shreyas Iyer was brilliant, scoring 43 runs off 24 balls. Rahane, on the other hand, was unable to leverage his start.
“Very pleased because after losing the last game by a big margin, feels good to come back and win by a big margin is nice. We had a nice start in the powerplay and Venky targeted bowlers well. I personally felt that it wasn’t easy to start for a new batter.” said Shreyas after winning the game.
“When we went in to bowl, the plan was to hit the right areas and not give room. The win was comprehensive, and when I spoke to the players, they were pumped up to win the game today. I’m not satisfied but want to maintain this.”
Batter Nitish Rana also contributed 43 runs. But it was all about bowler Jasprit Bumrah in the last overs of the first innings, where he picked up 5 wickets for just 10 runs.
At one point, it appeared that the Knight Riders would score anywhere between 180 and 190 runs, but Bumrah's last two overs, in which he allowed just one run and scooped up three wickets, brought things back for Mumbai.
Mumbai's batting, on the other hand, was non-existent. Apart from Kishan, no other batter contributed. Bowler Pat Cummins had won the game for his club with the bat earlier in the season against Mumbai. On Monday, he got three wickets in one over to help the Knight Riders win the game.
