Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders are locking horns in the 34th match of the Indian Premier League 2021 in Abu Dhabi. Kolkata Knight Riders registered an emphatic victory in their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore while Mumbai Indians got defeated by Chennai Super Kings in their previous game.
Rohit Sharma, after missing the previous game, made a comeback in this match for Mumbai and replaced Kieron Pollard to lead the team. Anmolpreet Singh made way for Rohit in the playing XI. Eoin Morgan won the toss and opted to bat first while naming an unchanged XI.
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Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma got MI off to a flying start as they scored boundaries at will. They added 77 runs for the first wicket before Rohit got out for 33 to Sunil Narine. De Kock, however, kept going strong and notched up his fifty.
Prasidh Krishna, then, returned and shacked Mumbai’s innings by removing De Kock and Suryakumar Yadav in successive overs. Kieron Pollard gave a final flourish to MI and propelled their score to 155/6 in 20 overs.
In response, Shubhman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer got Kolkata Knight Riders’ chase off to a flier. Both openers smashed boundaries before Jasprit Bumrah castled Gill for 13. Venkatesh Iyer was unstoppable and smashed MI bowlers to all corners of the park. In the process, he notched up his maiden IPL fifty in just his second IPL game.
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Bumrah dismissed Venkatesh who scored 53 runs in 30 balls, where he hit four fours and three sixes. Rahul Tripathi batting with intent since coming in the middle and scored boundaries at will. He scored unbeaten 74 runs in 42 balls where he hit eight fours and three sixes. KKR hunt down the target with seven wickets and 29 balls in hand.
Here is how Twitter reacted to this game;
Stunning win for KKR. I don't think Cummins was a problem, but his absence has forced them into a bat heavy balance far more in keeping with BM & Morgan's style. Brilliant individual performances – Iyer, Tripathi, Dre – have lit the fire. Comp is perfectly poised. #IPL2021
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) September 23, 2021
Suddenly, KKR is a serious contender for play-off after two wins in a row. But, it is unusual for MI to see that #SuryakumarYadav , #ishankishan and #pandya brothers not contributing enough. #MivsKKR #KKRvsMI #KKRvMI
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) September 23, 2021
The last time an opponent chasing a target of 150+ won easily vs Mumbai Indians #MI was when Deccan Chargers (155/0 in 12 overs) won by 10 wickets chasing MI's 154/7 in 2008.
Gilchrist 109* in 47b, VVS Laxman 37* in 26b
Won with 48 balls to spare!#MIvsKKR #KKRvMI #IPL #IPL2021— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 23, 2021
This break has worked quite well for #KKR. The situation they were in during the first half was hard to recover from.
The gap has allowed them to rectify their mistakes and rethink their plans. Starting with fresh mind again has helped mostly!#MIvKKR | #IPL2O21
— Prasenjit Dey (@CricPrasen) September 23, 2021
Could understand chasing 93 in 10 overs, but now 155 in 15 overs against the defending champions. The knights have issues a statement of solid intent. Walked the talk of playing fearless, solid cricket. #KKRvsMI Well played @KKRiders
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) September 23, 2021
Huge win for KKR. Opens up the points table big time.
KKR move from second-last to top four in a matter of two games. With games against PBKS & SRH still in hand.#MIvsKKR— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) September 23, 2021
This is a huge win for @KKRiders yet against NRR gets a major boost. Opens up the entire points table. Will be a major scramble in the middle for play off spots. Fun of the @IPL
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 23, 2021
The #KKR before the break were unrecognisable from this team. They are in serious contention now for a play-off spot
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 23, 2021
