Rohit Sharma’s romance with the Eden Gardens continued as he powered the Mumbai Indians to a 6-wicket victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders. In a high-scoring tie on Wednesday, the visitors conceded 187 runs after opting to bowl first, and then chased down the runs in the 19.1 overs to get their first points on the board.
Faced with an asking rate of 9.40, MI were quick off the blocks. Parthiv Patel (23 from 20 balls), one of three players to be included in the MI XI for this match, and Rohit matched each other stroke for stroke and helped their team to 53 in 5.4 overs; that’s when the left-hander was run out, thanks to a smart piece of fielding by Brad Hogg.
After Hardik Pandya failed for a second time at number three, Mitchell McClenaghan walked out to bat at number four. That decision by MI coach Ricky Ponting reaped rewards as the left-hander launched three sixes and blitzed his way to 20 from 8 balls.
Rohit, who opened his account with a crisply-timed flick six, got to 25 from 15 at the end of the Powerplay overs. Thereafter, he kept picking the ones and twos, apart from the one six – a Piyush Chawla long hop which was duly deposited into the stands. The MI captain brought up his half-century in the fourteenth over off 38 balls.
For KKR, Russell (1-52) had a forgettable day with the ball; the Jamaican kept bowling length deliveries or full length deliveries and kept getting punished; he, along with Chawla and debutant Kuldeep Yadav picked up a wicket apiece. KKR’s decision to play three spinners didn’t yield the expected rewards as the trio went for more than nine runs an over.
Earlier in the evening, KKR rode on half-centuries from skipper Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey, and a cameo from Russell to post a competitive 187 runs on the board. The home side was slow to begin with, scoring only six runs in the first two overs and added 13 runs in the third over.
After losing Robin Uthappa early, the KKR skipper Gambhir and Manish Pandey, who walked in to bat at number three, took the attack to the opposition in grand style. Manish was the more aggressive of the two batsmen, taking the aerial route on three occasions. The Karnataka batsman brought up his half-century 26 balls – his fastest in the IPL.
The second wicket pair had added 100 runs in just under ten overs and were calling the shots, when against the run of play Manish (52 from 29 balls, 3 fours, 3 sixes) was beaten in flight by Harbhajan Singh and handed the bowler a return catch. Andre Russell walked in and started hitting the ball into orbit frequently. The Jamaican scored 36 from 17 balls – studded with one boundary and four sixes.
Gambhir was let off twice – first when he was on 30 and then again when he was on 55. But he made sure he batted deep into the innings and made the visitors pay, scoring his 27th half-century in the IPL. The southpaw was dismissed at the start of the nineteenth over; the KKR captain – who had a terrible record against Mumbai Indians previously – made 64 from 52 balls and hit four boundaries and a six during his stay at the crease.
KKR only managed to score 24 in their final three overs, eventually finishing at 187 for 5. Yusuf Pathan (9 from 6 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (4 from 1 ball) were unbeaten at the end of the 20 overs.
For the visitors, Mitchell McClenaghan was the most successful bowler, returning with figures of 4-0-25-2. Harbhajan Singh (1-31) and Pandya (1-22) were the other wicket-takers.
Brief Scores
Kolkata Knight Riders 187-5 in 20.0 Overs (Gautam Gambhir 64, Manish Pandey 52, Mitchell McClenaghan 2-25)
Mumbai Indians 188-4 in 19.1 Overs (Rohit Sharma 84*, Jos Buttler 41)
