Mumbai gather steam: Venkatesh Iyer ton in vain as Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav guide Mumbai to five-wicket win over KKR
Mumbai, April 16
Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav led the charge as Mumbai Indians handed Kolkata Knight Riders a five-wicket defeat in their Indian Premier League match here today.
Venkatesh Iyer scored the fastest century of this year’s IPL — a 51-ball 104, with nine sixes and six fours. However, the left-handed batter’s effort went in vain as KKR suffered their ninth defeat in 10 matches at the Wankhede Stadium, and 23rd in 32 matches against Mumbai Indians.
Would have been happier if we would have finished on the winning note but nonetheless, pleased with my effort. Venkatesh Iyer, player of the match
I think we were 15-20 runs short. Credit to Piyush Chawla for the way he bowled. I feel quite bad for Venky. You play so well, score a century in a day game in Mumbai and you end up on the losing side. If our best bowlers are going for runs, there’s not much to say. Nitish Rana, KKR captain
We had a chat in the dugout that we had to carry the momentum from the last game and the boys put on a show. At the Wankhede in day games, 160-170 is a good score but Kishan got us off to a great start. Suryakumar Yadav, MI captain
The highlight of Mumbai Indians’ win was not just their sturdy response with the bat chasing 186 but the return of form for Suryakumar. The stand-in captain scored 43 off 25 balls, with four fours and three sixes.
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.
It was Rohit and Ishan who laid the platform by adding 65 for the first wicket in 4.5 overs. While Rohit hit a 13-ball 20 with two sixes and a four, Ishan smashed five sixes and as many fours in his 25-ball 58.
Suryakumar then shared a 60-run partnership with in-form Tilak Varma (30 off 25) before Tim David (24 off 13) scored the winning run.
Earlier, Iyer’s maiden century in IPL powered Kolkata Knight Riders to 185/6. The 28-year-old waged a lone battle, recording the highest score of the season.
While Iyer dominated the Mumbai Indians bowlers, scoring KKR’s first century since 2008, none of the other batters could trouble the scorers. Captain Nitish Rana (5) had a game to forget with the bat. He was dismissed by Hrithik Shokeen and walked away after exchanging a few words with the spin bowler. Though teammates for Delhi in domestic cricket, the two are not on talking terms.
Shokeen finished with two wickets, while four other bowlers took a wicket each. Debutant Arjun Tendulkar, who opened the attack for MI, went wicketless while giving away 17 runs from his two overs.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders: 185/6 (Venkatesh 104; Shokeen 2/34); Mumbai Indians: 186/5 in 17.4 overs (Kishan 58, Suryakumar 43; Suyash 2/27). — PTI
Like father, like son
Sachin Tendulkar and the 23-year-old Arjun (in pic), who made his debut for Mumbai Indians today, became the first father-son duo to feature in the history of IPL. Sachin played for Mumbai Indians for six years, between 2008 and 2013. Arjun was picked by the five-time champions for the first time in 2021.
