If their batsmen fail to get the job done, the bowlers make sure they do the job. Yes, never keep the five-time champions Mumbai Indians out as they can bounce back from any situation. With 22 runs needed from 18 balls and five wickets in hand, the Kolkata Knight Riders were well on the course to register their second consecutive win this season.
But to the surprise of everyone, the Mumbai Indians bowlers made valiant inroads at the right time as the 30-year old Krunal Pandya made sure he made full use of the slow wicket in Chennai and ensured he had the big hitter Andre Russell on check throughout the overs.
With 19 runs required from the last 12 balls and Russell and Dinesh Karthik on the crease, the game still looked in favor of the Knight Riders but once again it was the World’s best bowler Jasprit Bumrah would have the final say by bowling a tough line and slowing down the pace in the penultimate over, the pacer ensured the kiwi spearhead had 15 runs to play with in the last over.
The win now puts the Mumbai Indians in the second position in the points table. While Eoin Morgan and Co. slipped to the 5th position owing to an insubstantial net run-rate.
Cricwizz, today brings you the list of the players who were stand-out in registering an extraordinary win over the KKR and also we look at the player who we think would have been the reason for the failure of Knight Riders.
Here of the Match
A very tough decision to make between Rahul Chahar, who picked up four wickets, and the West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell, who managed to pick his first-ever five-wicket haul in the league and in turn become only the third KKR bowler to achieve the feat. The 21-year old Rahul Chahar makes the cut for the Hero of the match courtesy of his team finishing on the winning side and also his wickets include that of the top four of the KKR line-up, which indeed was an exemplary effort by the youngster.
Zero of the Match
The poor run for the KKR skipper- Eoin Morgan continues as the Englishmen once again were dismissed cheaply. He has now just managed to score 9 runs in two games played. He stands out to be the zero of the match for us as the skipper failed to meet the expectations of the supporters once again and he will be hoping he can make up for it in the coming games. It is also to be noted that, he did have a poor start in his last IPL but went on score 418 runs at an average of 42. Will he be able to replicate his performance?
Foreign Player of the Match
Not many are in contention for this Award, as only two stand-out foreign players in the game yesterday were Andre Russell and Trent Boult. Trent Boult makes the cut for his economical spell of bowling, giving away just 27 runs in his 4 overs and also picking up the crucial wickets of Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. Andre Russell did create a massacre with the ball but his innings of 9 runs from 15 balls force us to pick Boult over the West Indian.
Game-changing moment of the match
7 balls 1 run, Yes you read that right. The 16th oversaw the dismissal of Shakib Al Hassan. In came the hard-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell, one would have thought the West Indian would make easy work of the target but Krunal Pandya made his stay at the crease a nightmare, bowling back-to-back dot deliveries and giving away just 1 run in the 7 balls bowled to him. What do you think about our pick?
Stay tuned with Cricwizz as we bring you more insights into the matches. Also, do read our fantasy picks for the upcoming encounter between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, which is scheduled to take place this Wednesday.
