The Mumbai Indians are on a dream run this season and they have beaten Kolkata Knight Riders for the second time in the same season at the very same venue. Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock’s explosive start meant Kolkata Knight Riders had to buckle up by picking early wickets but that didn’t seem to work as the KKR bowlers were hit all over the park at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
It all started at the toss as Kolkata Knight Riders newly appointed skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat first at the Abu Dhabi track. Both sides had a few changes coming in as Nathan Coulter-Nile finally got a game in place of James Pattinson whereas KKR brought in Shivam Mavi and Chris Green in place of Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Tom Banton. Batting first Kolkata Knight Riders lost Rahul Tripathi very early on in the innings as he was the victim of a blinder by Suryakumar Yadav.
Mumbai Indians Continue Their Sublime Run In IPL 2020
There’s wasn’t anything noteworthy in Kolkata Knight Riders innings until Pat Cummins cam down the order to hit an unbeaten 53 off 36 balls to take KKR to a respectable total of 148 at the end of 20 overs. Other than Cummins’ batting there wasn’t any other firepower from the KKR batsmen today.
In reply, Mumbai Indians openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock went all out against the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers as they notched up a 94 run opening partnership. Putting up a 94 run partnership in a chase of merely 148 meant Mumbai Indians were cruising to victory which in the end they did as Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets to seal the first spot in the points table.
I was disappointed at not finishing it off last game: Quinton De Kock
The man of the match of today’s match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders was Quinton De Kock for their unbeaten knock of 78 runs off 44 deliveries. At the post-match presentation, Quinton De Kock said that he isn’t sure if the ramp shot he played is the best shot in his armoury but he surely enjoys playing it when it comes off nicely off the bat.
“To be honest, I’m not very sure – it’s the best shot I have in my armoury (talking about his leg-side game), I like to play it and it’s nice when it comes off. It’s all about keeping my balance, I don’t work too much on the cross-bat shots, it’s important to stay in the line while playing those.”
He further said that he doesn’t think about the dropped catches much if he drops any during a match. Quinton also said that he’s working on some aspect of keeping and is surely looking to improve as the season progresses.
“I was disappointed at not finishing it off last game, Mahela had a word to us – he keeps us in check, in focus, it’s nice to have such people around. I have played enough to not think too much about the keeping – everyone does drop catches and I’m not any different. I’m working on some aspects of the keeping, but I think I can keep improving on that aspect of the game,” Quinton de Kock added.