With a higher crowd capacity (50%), the Kolkata Knight Riders took on Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. The match saw some turbulent efforts from both sides and was eventually won by KKR by 5 wickets.
Here’s all that happened during the encounter.
Who won the toss?
The KKR skipper, Shreyas Iyer, won the toss and elected to field first. Both the teams made two changes each. KKR brought Pat Cummins for Tim Southee and Rasikh Salam for Shivam Mavi. On the other hand, Mumbai replaced Anmolpreet with Suryakumar Yadav and Tim David for Dewald Brevis.
1st Innings Highlights (Mumbai Indians)
Aiming to put up a decent total on board, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan walked out in the middle to face Umesh Yadav in the first over.
Powerplay: MI Under Pressure
Umesh began the match with a fiery initial over, giving away only a run and putting pressure on the MI openers straightaway. The second over of the innings was bowled by the KKR debutant, Rasikh Salam. He launched a cracking set of deliveries to unsettle Rohit Sharma and went for just three runs.
The bells of pressure were ringing as MI could manage only 4 runs in the first twelve deliveries. Umesh Yadav bowled 4 balls for 2 runs in the third over when Rohit decided it was enough; however, the MI skipper couldn’t time his pull-shot properly and was caught by Sam Billings. Sharma scored 3 from 12.
Dewald Brevis, another debutant of the match, joined Kishan in the middle. The youngster seemed confident from the outset and smashed his second ball of the innings for a cracking four towards the long-on boundary.
MI were 14-1 after four overs, and Umesh got to bowl his third on the trot. Brevis again launched a baseball shot over mid-on to get a boundary. In the final over of the powerplay, Ishan and Brevis put together twelve runs as MI got to 35-1 after 6.
By then, Brevis had reached 21 off 12 with a string of fours, while Ishan Kishan was batting at 10 from 12 balls.
Overs 6-10: KKR Dominates
Mumbai had a run rate of 6 when Shreyas Iyer introduced Sunil Narine into the attack. The West Indian spinner gave only 4 runs to initiate his spell. In the next over by Varun Chakravarthy, Brevis smashed a roaring six over the cow corner.
But Varun came back strongly to stump the right-hander, helped by the quick hands of wicket-keeper Sam Billings. MI were 46-2 after 8 overs.
His fall brought Suryakumar Yadav (SKY)to the crease for the first time in this edition. The challenging task of innings building was now on SKY and Kishan. The subsequent two overs brought only 8 runs, and MI were 54-2 after 10.
11-15: Slow Like a Turtle
Already under pressure of the low run rate, MI were stabbed further by Pat Cummins when he dismissed Ishan Kishan on the last ball of the 11th over. The left-hander gave a simple catch to Shreyas Iyer at mid-wicket. Tilak Varma came out to bat at number 5 for MI.
Varun Chakravarthy kept things tight in the next over and gave only three singles. MI had a scoring rate of 4.83 after 12 overs. In the 13th over, bowled by Umesh Yadav, Tilak Varma top-edged a short-ball, and what could have been a sitter for the wicket-keeper was dropped by Rahane as a result of poor calling.
Suryakumar Yadav then hit the last two balls for 10 runs, including a six via the uppercut. Rasikh Salam came to bowl the 14th over and gave away only 8 runs. The next over by Sunil Narine conceded just 6 to keep MI at 85-3 after 15.
Final Five (16-20): MI Get their Act Together
The first of the last five overs was bowled by Pat Cummins, who didn’t start well as Tilak Varma smashed a maximum over the fine leg fence. The youngster also hit Cummins for a boundary to collect 13 runs from the over.
The catch that Rahane dropped was now hurting KKR as Tilak again smashed a six (over mid-wicket) and a four (over covers) off Varun Chakravarthy. SKY hit a boundary over fine leg to end the 17th over. MI were 115-3.
Though the 18th over was bowled by the economical Sunil Narine, SKY managed to get 14 from it. He hit the off-spinner over square leg for an enormous six. As Russell bowled the 19th over, Surya reached his fifty with a boundary. Both SKY and Tilak hit a boundary each to take 9 from the over.
MI were 138-3 with an over left in their innings and, at the most, they were expecting to reach 150. After Surya got out off the first ball, even that looked like a difficult task. SKY was caught behind in what seemed to be a nick heard only by the bowler, Pat Cummins. KKR reviewed and contested the on-field umpire’s decision, and replays showed that Surya’s attempted drive indeed nicked the ball.
Kieron Pollard then made his way to the middle. He hammered Cummins over long-on for a six to bring the fire back. The big man then top-edged two balls that went flying past the square boundary on the offside. MI managed a 161-4, thanks to Pollard’s 5-ball 22. The final over by Cummins went for 33 runs.
2nd Innings Highlights (KKR Batting)
Powerplay: KKR Under the Hood
Chasing 162 runs on a tricky track was always a challenging task, but KKR had faith in their openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer. However, the two were not in the best of forms. Both were cautious in the beginning scoring only 9 runs in the first two overs.
Venkatesh sliced Thampi for a boundary in the third over to release some pressure, but the fourth over by Bumrah brought things further in the control of Mumbai. He gave only two off his first over, restricting KKR to 16-0 after 4 overs.
Rohit introduced Tymal Mills into the attack, and with the scoreboard pressure aggravating, Rahane tried to drag a pull shot for a six on the first ball. However, the pace of Mills did him, and he was caught at deep square leg by Sams. He went for 7 from 11, and Shreyas Iyer joined Venkatesh in the middle.
The KKR skipper had a mixed start to his outing. Though he sliced the first ball for a boundary behind square, he was dropped by Ishan Kishan on the fourth ball of his innings. Venkatesh Iyer struck two boundaries in the 6th over to pull things back, but his captain was dismissed in the same over to a rash shot.
Shreyas tried to pull Daniel Sams but found Tilak Varma at square leg. After the end of 6 overs, KKR were 35-2.
Overs 6-10: Calm Before the Storm
Sam Billings was the new man in for KKR, and he brought a positive mindset alongside. Though not much, Billings was able to hit a six each off Ashwin and Thampi. On the other hand, Venkatesh Iyer struggled but held one end vigorously. KKR were 57-2 after 9 overs, and a strategic time out was called.
M. Ashwin continued in the 10th over when finally Venkatesh could get his strike rate over 100 for the first time in the game after hitting a sweet six over square leg. Nevertheless, Ashwin produced a breakthrough for MI by getting the wicket of Billings, who was caught at long-off by Suryakumar.
At the halfway stage, KKR had lost three wickets for 67 runs. They needed 95 from 60 balls.
Overs 11-15: All About Pat Cummins
When Billings got out, Nitish Rana joined Venkatesh to foster the run chase. Rohit gave the 11th over to Mills but, unfortunately, that didn’t work out as he went for 14 runs. While Venkatesh got a boundary off an inside edge, Rana deposited Mills over third man for a six.
In the 12th over, Rana tried to continue the positive approach but was caught at deep midwicket by Daniel Sams, giving Ashwin his second wicket. From here onwards, MI had a mountain to climb in Andre Russell, who brought tons of hope with himself, especially after the heroic innings against PBKS.
Russell pummeled Ashwin over the straight boundary for a maximum to start the proceedings. KKR were 89-4 after 12, and the big man looked in the mood. In the successive 6 balls by Bumrah, both the batsmen collected 12 runs.
Just when Russell was growing in confidence, Tymal Mills got him caught at point by Brevis. That was game, set, and match for Mumbai Indians in normal circumstances. Out of the 7 overs left, two were to be bowled by Bumrah, and KKR hardly had a big hitter left. But, Cricket is a funny game!
Playing his first match of the season, Pat Cummins came out to bat at number 7 for KKR. After Russell fell, MI were back in the contest with all guns blazing. However, this man from Australia walks to the middle and immediately starts smashing every ball, all around the corner. He showed no mercy to even good deliveries and withheld the deposits of the ones bowling at him.
Cummins was extremely ruthless. The all-rounder started with a six on the second ball of his innings, sending Tymal Mills over fine leg. He drilled the gap between third man and point for a boundary on the very next ball. Suddenly, the required run rate was under 8.
At this crucial juncture, Rohit Sharma went to his prime bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, searching for a wicket to pack the match. However, Cummins was in a different mood. He didn’t even spare Bumrah, smacking him for a six and a four. KKR needed 35 off 30 when the ball was thrown to Daniel Sams in what turned out to be the most expensive over of TATA IPL 2022.
The first ball went for a six, the second one for a boundary, and the next two for consecutive maximums. Cummins was hitting with so much power that even the balls not meeting the middle of the bat disappeared to long distances.
Cummins belabored the fifth ball of the over towards the long-off region where Suryakumar Yadav was stationed. SKY managed to pull the ball from outside the fence and eventually caught it with a full stretch jump.
However, a twist awaited the viewers as the leg-umpire called it a waist height no-ball. That gave Cummins a chance to finish things in the same over, and he pounded the last ball for a massive six over the straight boundary. Daniel Sams went for 35 runs in 6 balls.
Click here to watch the video of Cummins’ hitting in the 16th over.
In a miraculous turn of events, KKR won the match by five wickets with 24 balls to spare, and Cummins scored a 14 ball 50, equaling the IPL record for the fastest fifty by KL Rahul.
Well, it was indeed a mind-boggling innings from Pat Cummins. He not only announced his arrival in the tournament but also pulled his team from the jaw of defeat. Moreover, a match that seemed like going to the final over was finished by Cummins’ heroics with 4 overs to spare.
KKR vs MI Interesting Moments
Rahane’s poor judgment
In the 13th over of the MI innings, Tilak Varma miscued a pull shot, and the ball went miles high in the air. It was coming down just inches away at the striker’s end.
What should have been a simple catch for the keeper was put down by Ajinkya Rahane, who came running from short third man. Had he not unnecessarily barged in, Sam Billings would have taken the catch.
Two Interesting Expensive Overs
The match saw two overs that went for heavy runs. Interestingly, Pat Cummins was involved in both of them. When MI were batting, it was Pat Cummins, the bowler, that was hit for 25 runs in the 20th over. Kieron Pollard smashed him for three maximums.
Skip to the KKR innings, and Cummins was at the depositing end as he smashed Daniel Sams for 35 runs in the 16th over. The batter hit 4 sixes and two fours to turn the match on its head.
The Turnaround by Cummins
KKR needed 61 runs off 41 balls when Andre Russell was dismissed, and Pat Cummins came out to bat. With the latter’s extravagant innings, KKR scored the required runs in only 17 balls.
Two Debutants Each
The KKR vs MI match saw two youngsters making their IPL debut. For KKR, it was Rasikh Salam, a pacer from Jammu & Kashmir, while for Mumbai, it was Dewald Brevis, famously known as Baby AB.
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