Mumbai Indians 195 of 5 (Rohit 80, Suryakumar 47, Mavi 2-32) Kolkata Knights Riders 146 of 9 (Cummins 33, Karthik 30, Pattinson 2-25) for 49 runs
The Mumbai Clinical Indians ignored their opening game loss at IPL 2020 with a 49-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders. At bat, Mumbai managed a 195-for-5 par at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, built around Rohit Sharma’s 80 of 54 balls at the top of the order. Sharma hit deep in the innings, dropping just at 18, with the debilitating heat playing its part in a tired shot, but his effort was enough to give the Bombay players a total that was unerring against the power-packed middle of the Knight Riders. order.
The Mumbai rhythm trio of Jasprit Bumrah, James Pattinson and Trent Boult delivered on the plans, with Bumrah particularly sensational when the pursuit of the Knight Riders chopped and faltered without ever reaching top speed. Bumrah took one down on the power play, but Sharma saved it for the big guns of the Knight Riders thereafter, and made a second appearance only on 13, when Andre Russell joined Eoin Morgan in the middle with the rate. of orders touching 14.75. By the time he completed his third substitution, the chase was buried, with Bumrah catching Russell and Morgan at four balls and Bumrah’s numbers going 3-0-5-2. In a rather anti-climactic fashion, Bumrah conceded a whopping 27 runs in his last over to spoil his numbers a bit, but by then the task was beyond the Knight Riders, who finally finished 146 of 9.
The victory also broke a six-game losing sequence for Mumbai in the United Arab Emirates, dating back to when they lost five of five games there in 2014.
SEE ALSO: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians live September 23, 2020
The Rohit-Suryakumar partnership
The Knight Riders had started well, after giving something of a surprise by selecting Sandeep Warrier and Shivam Mavi as their two Indian pacemakers, ahead of Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Prasidh Krishna. Warrier launched a poll first, spoiled only by a width with the resulting extra ball going to six, while Mavi was excellent – quick, hostile and scalping Quinton de Kock in a wicket-maiden. It would have been easy for Mumbai to go into rebuilding mode, but Suryakumar Yadav was fluid from the start and allowed Mumbai to ignore de Kock’s impeachment.
He hit four limits on his first six balls, sumptuously in control of some and not so much of others, but what he did was make sure Mumbai got back on track. Suryakumar’s initial flurry also meant Sharma could afford to bide his time. The Mumbai captain exploded as Pat Cummins entered the attack, two short balls were dispatched over the middle of the field in a regal fashion.
However, the selection of shots at a 90-run position was that Suryakumar leapt down the track to Kuldeep Yadav’s left arm wrist twist, correctly read the googly, and imperiously struck with the additional cover.
A toughening of bowling by the Knight Riders and an error in judgment ended the partnership. Sunil Narine and Kuldeep combined to allow just 15 runs in 2.5 overs, and Suryakumar risked a risky second to be caught on a good shot. However, he had set things up for Mumbai, beating Sharma with 47 of 28 in the association, while the captain made 41 of 30.
Mumbai finished well, with cameos from Saurabh Tiwary, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard securing 90 runs in the final eight overs, despite falling three wickets. Their final total was less than they appeared to be prepared for, but still substantial on great terrain.
Mumbai and the short ball attack
Goal defense would be based on how the Mumbai rhythm trio performed. His planning and execution were spot on, with most of the Knight Riders’ hitters susceptible to a short ball attack. According to ball-by-ball data from ESPNcricinfo, of the 15 overs thrown by closers, including three overs by Kieron Pollard, only 16 balls were full, or about one per over.
The plan started by targeting Narine, the starter. She barely hit anything in her middle, and although she has smashed short pins at the top of the order in the past, it was quite a bit more difficult to do it against high pace. Unsurprisingly, an effort across the line to a short ball resulted in Narine being fired. The Knight Riders had decided to send Captain Dinesh Karthik at No. 3 and Nitish Rana after him, which meant that Rohit pressured his other bowlers to serve, beating Rahul Chahar, Pollard and Krunal Pandya.
Morgan had come out the 11th time, but when the fourth wicket fell and Russell came out, Sharma immediately returned with Bumrah, Pattinson and Boult, and the short ball tactic was on display again for both men. Bumrah sealed the deal in the 16th of innings. The Knight Riders needed 96 of 30 to start, and they ended up with the 94 of 24 equation and their two best hitters disappeared.
Pat Cummins Strange Day
Bought for INR 15.5 million rupees (roughly $ 2.2 million), and ending his quarantine just before the game, Cummins had a strange day. He had an unforgettable outing with the ball and a memorable one with the bat. The Knight Riders had also tried using the short ball, making Mumbai hitters aim for the longer square limits, but they weren’t as effective. Cummins hit them hard, but Sharma, Tiwary and Hardik Pandya peppered the boundary square with six and four. He finished without completing his quota, with 49 runs in three terrainless overs. However, he bounced back a bit when he lunged at Bumrah for four sixes in a whirlwind that helped narrow the margin of defeat a bit. His 33 of 12 balls were scored at a slightly faster rate than the runs he dropped while bowling.
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