Kolkata Knight Riders 174/5 (20/20 ov)
Mumbai Indians 178/4 (18/20 ov)
Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets (with 12 balls remaining)
Mumbai Indians chased down the target of 175 set by Kolkata Knight Riders in their last game at Wankhede Stadium to win by six wickets in the Indian Premier League.
The hosts won the toss, and like all those before them so far this season, elected to bowl first.
Kolkata opener Gautam Gambhir top-scored with 59 in a batting line-up that shared the hard work well, with six of the seven put in getting into double figures, including Robin Uthappa hitting 36 off 21 balls and Andre Russell contributing 22, to set a target of 174 for 5.
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Mumbai made a quick start to their chase, with Rohit Sharma leading the charge, smashing an impressive and unbeaten 68 off 49 balls, including eight fours and two sixes.
Although Parthiv Patel went cheaply for one off Umesh Yadav’s bowling, Ambati Rayudu settled in at No 3 to pick up 32 runs before being caught by Suryakumar Yadav.
There was a tremendous catch in the outfield when Jos Buttler lofted a shot toward the boundary from Sunil Narine’s delivery.
Chris Lynn, brought in by Kolkata just before the match, followed it all the way, and got a hand to it right in front of the rope, but the momentum carried him over the boundary.
Showing great awareness, he parried the ball back into the field of play, stepped on a bottle, recovered his balance, returned to the field and took the catch. However, Kieron Pollard was next up for Mumbai and a quick-fire 51 off 17 balls allowed the hosts to secure their fourth win of the season with two overs to spare.
The Supreme Court’s rejection of pleas for a stay on the Bombay High Court’s order on shifting IPL matches out of Maharashtra meant this was Mumbai’s last game at Wankhede Stadium this season.
“It was a good game and we wanted this win badly,” Rohit, the Mumbai captain and man of the match, said at the post-match presentation. “We stuck to our plans though we dropped a lot of catches.
“We batted brilliantly. Pollard’s form was crucial and he is peaking at the right time. This is going to be our last game here. The support has been superb here. I want to thank the crowd.
“Mumbai always enjoy perfect cricket. They have been wanting to see Pollard fire. I don’t know what’s our home venue. “We will have to understand the conditions and adapt as soon as possible.”
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