Kolkata Knight Riders keep the playoff hopes alive by defeating Mumbai Indians. Last night, they beat Mumbai Indians by 52 runs at the Mumbai Stadium. As a result, they still have a chance to go to the playoff round.
With 10 points, the KKR are standing in 7th place. However, the 5th and 6th teams have equal points as Kolkata Knight Riders have. So, they can move to 5th place anytime. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have returned to their default form. They won only two matches in the league after losing eight consecutive games. Last night, they lost again to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Match Report
Rohit Sharma, the captain of Mumbai Indians, won the toss and decided to bowl first. So, Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane started the innings for the KKR. Both openers were very aggressive in this match. They added 60 runs together in the opening partnership. But their partnership broke in the 6th over as Venkatesh Iyer lost the wicket to Kumar Kartikeya. Before losing the wicket, he scored 43 runs from 24 balls.
After that, Ajikya Rahane made another partnership of 27 runs with the new batsman, Nitish Rana. But Rahane also departed the pitch in the 11th over. However, the remaining batsmen of Kolkata Knight Riders couldn’t score a big run for the team. As a result, their innings ended in 165 runs in 20 overs.
Chasing the target, Mumbai Indians lost the wicket very early. Their captain departed the pitch in the first over. Then, Ishan Kishan tried to make a resistance with new players. He added 30 runs on the scoreboard with Tilak Varma. But, Tilak Varma couldn’t contribute much. He lost the wicket after scoring only six runs. The following two batsmen, Ramandeep Singh and Tim David, also failed to play a fruitful innings for Mumbai Indians. They just came in and went back to the pavilion.
However, Ishan Kishan fought for his life to win the match. But he didn’t get enough support from his teammates. Finally, his heroic innings came to an end in the 15th over. Before losing the wicket, Ishan Kishan scored the highest 51 runs for the team. However, Mumbai Indians became all out in 113 runs. As a result, Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by 52 runs.