IPL 2021, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians: Records broken
Kolkata Knight Riders claimed a one-sided win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the 34th match of the IPL 2021. Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi helped the Knight Riders chase the 156-run target. KKR have won their second consecutive game in the ongoing UAE leg. They earlier beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first game after the COVID-19-enforced break.
How did the match pan out?
MI started with a bang after KKR elected to field. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock added 78 runs for the opening wicket. However, the middle-order couldn't capitalize upon the start. Sunil Narine kept MI at bay, while Lockie Ferguson and Prasidh Krishna took regular wickets. Although KKR lost Shubman Gill initially, Iyer and Tripathi made the run-chase one-sided with scintillating knocks.
Iyer and Tripathi shared an 88-run stand
The likes of Iyer and Tripathi completely dominated the MI bowlers throughout the run-chase. Iyer played a phenomenal knock, having reached his maiden IPL half-century in just 25 balls. He finished with 53 off 30 balls (4 fours and 3 sixes). Tripathi equally impressed with his endearing strokes. He smashed his seventh IPL fifty. The duo shared an 88-run stand for the second wicket.
KKR break the deadlock against MI
KKR have finally broken the deadlock against MI, having won only the second time in last the 11 encounters. This is just their third win against Mumbai since the IPL 2015. Prior to this match, KKR beat MI in 2019.
Rohit completes 1,000 runs against KKR
MI skipper Rohit returned to lead MI after missing the opening encounter of the UAE leg. He looked in great touch, having scored 33 off 30 balls (4 fours). During the innings, Rohit became the first-ever player in the IPL history to complete 1,000 runs against a team. The Indian batter now has 1,015 runs against KKR at an average of 46.13.
Rohit once again falls to Narine
Narine dismissed Rohit for the seventh time in the IPL, the joint-most time a batter has been dismissed by a single bowler. MS Dhoni (by Zaheer Khan) and Virat Kohli (by Sandeep Sharma) are the other batters who have been dismissed as many times.
Quinton slams his 16th IPL half-century
Quinton didn't gain his rhythm in his first few balls. However, he broke the shackles soon and punished the bowlers thereafter. The South African batter smashed his 16th IPL half-century, now the joint-seventh-most among overseas batters along with Kane Williamson. Quinton finished with 55 off 42 balls. His knock was laced with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Another single-figure score for Suryakumar Yadav
Top-order batter Suryakumar Yadav is undergoing a lean patch at the moment. He has scored only 181 runs from nine matches at an average of 20.11 so far. SKY hasn't scored in double figures in his last three IPL games. His last seven scores in the tournament read as - 5, 3, 3, 16, 33, 24, and 10.
