The Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders arrived at the Wankhede Stadium with differing goals in what should have been a matchup for a spot in the top four. If the visiting KKR team wins, they will go up to the top of the standings.
On the other side, Hardik Pandya and the Mumbai Indians will just play for pride. Naman Dhir replaced Mohammad Nabi as the home team won the toss and elected to bowl first. On the other side, KKR entered the game with the same squad as before.
Kolkata Knight Riders: 50 runs off 5 overs
The Mumbai Indians bowlers put the KKR hitters through a frenzied first five overs. Prior to dismissing Shreyas Iyer, Nuwan Thushara claimed the wickets of Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Phil Salt. Next, Sunil Narine was big-bowled for eight by Hardik Pandya.
Powerplay: Overs 0.1 to 6 (57/4 Required)
Thanks to a misfield by Piyush Chawla, Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer cautiously played out Naman Dhir, managing just one four. The KKR bowlers, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, would be licking their lips because the pitch has been a little two-paced.
Kolkata Knight Riders: 72/5 after 9 overs; first strategic time-out
Rinku Singh gave Piyush Chawla a straightforward return catch, so just when KKR thought their problems were over, they weren’t. The impact player who would make his season debut was then introduced: Manish Pandey.
Stat Alert: Piyush Chawla hits a unique benchmark
Mumbai Indians leggie Piyush Chawla was elevated to a special class after Rinku Singh was removed. The seasoned spinner became the second-most successful bowler in the IPL after taking his 184th wicket. Chawla overtook Dwayne Bravo, who finished his storied IPL career with 183 wickets.
Also read: Why isn’t Mohammad Nabi participating in MI vs. KKR, Match 51 of the IPL 2024?
100 runs from 11.5 overs for Kolkata Knight Riders
Thanks to Venkatesh Iyer, KKR was able to recover after losing five early wickets and go back into the game. The left-hander persisted in hitting the MI bowlers to put them on the defensive after hitting a century there the previous year.
Kolkata Knight Riders: 128/5 from 15 overs is the second strategic time out.
The Mumbai Indians and Hardik Pandya missed a fantastic opportunity to increase pressure on the KKR team. To keep the visitors within striking distance of a strong score, Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey combined caution with aggression.
Half-century: 36 balls, Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer performed admirably once more to score a vital fifty while playing against his favourite side. The left-handed batter performed heroically to pull his side clear of the woods, even though it appeared for a while that KKR would not score more than 120 runs.
150 runs from 16.5 overs for Kolkata Knight Riders
With the key wicket of Manish Pandey for 42, Hardik Pandya provided the Mumbai Indians a much-needed break. The Jamaican was runout for seven in the seventeenth over after two sixes from Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer.
Kolkata Knight Riders are out of the game after 20 overs with 169 runs.
All the other KKR batsmen were unable to muster any resistance, with the exception of the stand between Manish Pandey and Venkatesh Iyer. Thanks to some excellent bowling from Jasprit Bumrah, MI was able to limit KKR to a respectable total that could be attained at this location.
India
