The 34th match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) saw the Eoin Morgan-led side thrash the defending champions convincingly. Chasing 156 runs, Kolkata sailed past the target with 29 balls to spare in Abu Dhabi.
KKR has won the toss and opt to bowl first. Batting first, MI got off to a flying start with Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock added 78 runs for the opening wicket. But later their middle order failed to carry forward the momentum and they could manage 155 runs in their allotted 20 overs as well.
While chasing, KKR too had a brilliant start where they managed 40 runs within the first 3 overs. Later, Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi smashed the fifties and helped the team reach the finish line with ease, with 4.5 overs in hand as well.
1️⃣0️⃣ dot balls in a T20 game! 🤯
Just Narine things 😉#MIvKKR #KKR #AmiKKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #আমিKKR #IPL2021 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/vawv3r0M1f
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 23, 2021
After the win, Sunil Narine, the Man of the Match, said: “I’m coming off a good amount of cricket in the CPL and The Hundred. It’s getting better and better. It has taken me a while with this new action and I have put in a lot of work into it. Getting Rohit out in any form of cricket is good; he is a key wicket for Mumbai.
Varun is someone who likes to know about the game and he likes to know what will happen. He is a quick learner and he has far to go. I wouldn’t say this pitch was sticky. It was flat but not as flat as last year. My batting depends on what my team requires, if they want to go at the top or at the end, I’ll do it.”
Eoin Morgan, the winning captain said: “Well it’s been a long time coming. Since Baz (McCullum) has taken over last year, the way we have played in the last two games is the way our coach wants us to play. It suits our talent to play this way. To hold such a strong Mumbai Indians side to 155 and chase this down gives us confidence.
Fitting Venkatesh Iyer into our XI has been difficult with a lot of talented guys, and it’s fantastic the way he’s scored his runs. In the practice games too, he has gone on to play this way. Sunil and Chakravarthy are two formidable bowlers. Sunil has been integral to KKR winning when they’ve done. Varun is the fresh guy. The first two games in this phase have been the template for us to play. There’s only one way for us to go in the points table and that is upwards.”
This man 💜💛@tripathirahul52 #MIvKKR #KKR #AmiKKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #আমিKKR #IPL2021 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/wMAUh2OtW6
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 23, 2021
Rahul Tripathi said: “I really enjoyed the batting today and happy that I stayed till the end and got the team home. Obviously the coach tells us to be positive. When you are positive the pressure goes to the bowlers and you just look for runs. It was important to put their spinners under pressure. I felt it was important to get boundaries. The team environment is very positive. We wanted to hit the ground running in the second phase. Definitely very happy.”
Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians captain said: “Few areas (went wrong). We started really well but didn’t get enough towards the back end. I thought it was a good pitch, we failed to capitalize on the start we got and we didn’t bowl well at the start. I don’t want to look into it too much, things can happen and you have to move on. After a good start we had to get small partnerships but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals, it is not easy for new batters to go in and start hitting the ball.
It is something that happened in the last game as well and we will address it. It is always there at the back of the mind on where you stand, we are still in the middle of the table, so we have to get back and fight and hopefully get some wins on the trot.”
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