In a thrilling rain-curtailed 16-overs match, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emerged victorious against Mumbai Indians (MI), becoming the first team to qualify for the play-offs in the ongoing tournament. The match saw a disciplined bowling performance from KKR that stifled MI’s batting lineup.
Mumbai started strong with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan finding the boundaries early on. However, Kishan’s aggressive innings of 40 runs off 22 balls was cut short by Sunil Narine, and Rohit Sharma’s struggle continued as he was dismissed for 19 runs. The pressure mounted on MI as they were 81/2 after 10 overs, needing 77 runs from the last 6 overs.
Hardik Pandya’s nightmare season continued as he fell for just 2 runs, followed by Tim David’s dismissal for a duck. Despite a late fightback from Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma, KKR’s bowlers held their nerve to secure an 18-run victory.
On the other hand, KKR’s openers, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, failed to make an impact with Narine getting dismissed for a golden duck. However, Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana steadied the innings with crucial contributions, setting up a challenging total of 157/7 for MI to chase.
In the end, MI’s batting woes continued as they fell short of the target, giving KKR a well-deserved victory. With this win, KKR solidified their position in the play-offs, while MI’s struggles continued, especially with Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya failing to deliver once again.