Kolkata Knight Riders 187/5 (20/20 ov)
Mumbai Indians 188/4 (19.1/20 ov)
Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)
Mumbai Indians won a see-saw battle at Eden Gardens on Wednesday when they beat Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match that witnessed batting milestones but was marred by sloppy efforts in the field.
It took the individual brilliance of captain Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler (41 from 22 balls) to see Mumbai over the line with five balls to spare.
Rohit continued his love affair with the ground where he posted the highest individual score in a one-day international, 264 against Sri Lanka in November 2014. His last four IPL scores on the Eden Gardens scoreboard read 98 not out, 50, 50 not out and 84 not out – the last one a match-winning knock against Kolkata on Wednesday.
See more:
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After a dominant win against Delhi Daredevils in their first game Kolkata posted a target of 188, an imposing one considering Mumbai were out for just 121 against Rising Pune Supergiants in their opener.
Rohit started the match poorly though after winning the toss and sending Kolkata in to bat. He dropped an easy catch off Gautam Gambhir at midwicket when his rival captain was on 32.
Mumbai swam against the tide in Kolkata’s innings after that as Gambhir (64) went on to add his 27th IPL fifty, the most by anyone in the tournament.
Keeping him company was Manish Pandey (52), who reached the milestone after 13 innings in the IPL, and Andre Russell’s late flourish of 36 off 17 balls. Pandey’s previous fifty-plus score was 94 in Kolkata’s 2014 final win against Kings XI Punjab.
Mumbai openers Rohit and left-handed Parthiv Patel put up an opening partnership of 53 in six overs but the batting on display was by no means fluent.
Rohit battled on when Parthiv and Hardik Pandya left and still had the required run-rate under 10 at the halfway mark. Then Pandya holed out and the promoted Mitchell McClenaghan hit three sixes before paying for an over-ambitious swipe at a wide ball from Kuldeep Yadav to hand a tame catch to Colin Munro.
At even keel until then, Mumbai lost two extra men compared to Kolkata at that stage.
Buttler then arrived to show what the IPL had been missing when he had opted out of the tournament to focus on his England career.
Buttler used the long handle for three sixes and as many boundaries to bring down the run rate to run a ball before Rohit saw the team through.
“We have seen Buttler play those kind of innings again and again for England,” Rohit said after the match. He added he was not worried Mumbai had fallen behind on the run-rate. “It’s a high-scoring ground anyway. We have played enough cricket to that. It was my duty to bat till the end.”
Gambhir blamed the effort in the field but applauded hisrivals, saying: “Credit to Mumbai, they accelerated at the right time. If someone bats through, it was going to be difficult. They just played well, I cannot point to one or two things.”
Today's match: Gujarat Lions v Rising Pune Supergiants
The two new IPL teams this season have began in fine fashion with opening wins. Gujarat Lions are at home in Rajkot tonight but their bowling was the weak link against Kings XI Punjab in their first game. The hosts will be hoping for favourable home conditions on the spin-friendly track.
Gujarat will look to Ravindra Jadeja, while Rising Pune Supergiants will be hoping for Ravichandran Ashwin’s off-spinners to do the trick for them in a battle of India’s experienced slow bowlers.
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