Venkatesh Iyer's hundred first for Kolkata since Mccullum's 158 in 2008
MUMBAI: Venkatesh Iyer became the first Kolkata Knight Riders' batter to score a century since Brendon McCullum's blitzkrieg of 158 on the first day of the IPL way back in 2008, but in the end his knock fell short after a collective batting effort saw Mumbai Indians canter to a convincing five-wicket win at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
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MI chased down the target of 186 in 17.4 overs thanks to useful contributions by their top-five, who before the start of the tournament were tipped to be the most dangerous batting unit in this edition but hadn't clicked as a unit.
On Sunday, in front of the capacity crowd, they finally came good and took MI over the line.
It started with a 29-ball 65-run partnership for the opening wicket between Rohit Sharma (20, 13b; 1x4, 2x6), who came in as an impact player, and Ishan Kishan (58, 25b; 5x4, 5x6). It put MI's innings into motion and helped them seize control of the chase which they never relinquished.
A 38-ball 60-run partnership for the third wicket between stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav (43, 25b; 4x4, 3x6) and Tilak Verma (30, 25b; 3x1, 1x6), made sure MI kept their foot on the accelerator through the middle overs before Tim David's (24, 13b; 1x4, 2x6) lusty blows towards the end made sure MI finished the match quickly, rather than taking it down to the wire like in the previous match against Delhi Capitals.
1/10:IPL 2023: Ishan, Suryakumar lead Mumbai Indians to easy win over KKR
2/10:Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets
<p>Ishan Kishan (58) and Suryakumar Yadav (43) led the charge as Mumbai Indians handed Kolkata Knight Riders a five-wicket defeat in their Indian Premier League match in Mumbai on Sunday.<br /></p>ANI
3/10:Iyer's century goes in vain
<p>The fastest century in this year's IPL for Venkatesh Iyer — 104 off 51 balls (6x4s, 9x6s) — went in vain for KKR, who suffered their ninth defeat in 10 matches at the Wankhede Stadium, and an overall 23rd in 32 matches against Mumbai Indians.<br /></p>PTI
4/10:Suryakumar gets his mojo back
<p>The highlight of Mumbai Indians' win was not just their sturdy response with the bat chasing 186, but their key middle-order batter Suryakumar banishing batting woes with a 25-ball 43 laced with four fours and three sixes.<br /></p>AFP
5/10:Suryakumar leads MI in place of Rohit
<p>Suryakumar also stepped up to lead Mumbai Indians in the game in which regular captain Rohit Sharma played as an impact substitute owing to a stomach bug as MI won with 14 balls to spare, finishing at 186/5 in 17.4 overs.<br /></p>IANS
6/10:David's brisk knock
<p>Tim David struck an unbeaten 24 off 13 balls with two sixes and a four as MI recorded a second successive win while chasing.<br /></p>AP
7/10:Fine opening stand
<p>The platform, however, was laid early by Kishan and Rohit, who went hammer and tongs from the second over onwards to add 65 for the first wicket in 4.5 overs, attacking the KKR pacers Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur in particular.<br /><br /></p>ANI
8/10:Umesh Yadav's stunner gets rid of Rohit
<p>The first-wicket partnership looked ominous for KKR who managed to break through, with Umesh Yadav taking a fine diving catch at mid-on off Suyash Sharma in the fifth over. Rohit fell for a 13-ball 20 with two sixes and a four after helping MI past 50-run mark inside four overs.<br /></p>IANS
9/10:Kishan slams 21-ball fifty
<p>On the other end, Kishan brought up his fifty in 21 balls with five fours and four sixes. His charge was stopped by Varun Chakravarthy, with the KKR mystery spinner cleaning up Kishan after a 25-ball 58 with five sixes and as many fours.<br /></p>IANS
10/10:Suyash dismisses Tilak Varma
<p>The rookie leg-spinner Suyash claimed his second wicket in the form of Tilak Varma, in the 14th over, who played one onto his wickets after a 25-ball 30 (3x4s, 1x6s) having added 60 from 38 balls with Suryakumar for the third wicket.<br /></p>PTIWhile Rohit got among the runs in the last match against DC, Kishan and Surya getting healthy scores under their belt would have delighted the MI think-tank. Kishan, who has been assigned the job of getting the side off to quick starts in the powerplay, struggled in the first three matches to perform that role, but against KKR he appeared turbo charged.
Surya, who led MI as Sharma was down with a stomach bug, adopted a wait and watch approach before opening his shoulders. He started with back-to-back sixes off Lockie Ferguson in the 11th over. The first one was a pick-up six over fine leg - very similar to the stroke he attempted in the last match against DC and was out first ball. This time he backed himself and cleared the boundary. The next one was a flick over mid-wicket.
MI batters knew that the KKR spin trio of Sunil Narine (0/41), Varun Chakravarthy (1/38) and Suyash Sharma (2/27) would pose a threat so at every opportunity they attacked them, not allowing them to settle.
Earlier, Iyer seemed as if he was playing on a different pitch compared to his KKR teammates as he brought up his maiden T20 century. The left-hand batter scored a 51-ball 104 with the help of six four and nine sixes. Till the 11.3rd over, he was the only KKR batter to hit boundaries before Shardul Thakur hit one.
With Jofra Archer still not fit, MI's bowling wears an inexperienced look, but they did well to restrict KKR for 185. Much of the credit for that should go to leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (4-0-19-1) and young offie Hrithik Shokeen (4-0-34-2) for bowling well through the middle-overs and keeping it tight at one end despite Iyer striking it over 200. They conceded just 53 in eight overs between them to keep KKR in check.
MI wore the jersey of their Women's Premier League champions for the day which saw 19,000 girls watch the match under the Education and Sports for All initiative, a celebration of women in sports in India. At the toss, stand-in skipper Suryakumar was accompanied by Harmanpreet Kaur, Indian women's captain and the skipper of the Mumbai Indians WPL franchise.
Nita Ambani, owner Mumbai Indians, said, "I am quite overwhelmed. Look at the energy, the excitement, and the enthusiasm in the stadium. ESA matches are always special. This year, we have 19,000 girls in the stadium from different NGOs. Many of them are seeing a live cricket match for the first time. It's a very emotional day."
