3 iconic matches between MI and KKR in the IPL 

Mumbai Indians (MI) are taking on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match number 22 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 16.

This will be the first match of the double-header and will be special for MI as they will be wearing the WPL jersey as part of the franchise's initiative - Education and Sports for All (ESA) Day.

Mumbai registered their first points on the board in their last game against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Chasing 173 for victory, they got home by six wickets in a last-ball finish. Speaking of KKR, they went down to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 23 runs in their last match.

Kolkata’s bowlers suffered at the hands of Harry Brook (100* off 55) as they conceded 228 runs. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh scored defiant half-centuries, but KKR were held to 205/7.

Looking at the head-to-head record between the two teams, they have played 31 matches, with Mumbai winning 22 and Kolkata nine.

As the sides face off at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, we revisit three memorable battles between them in the IPL.

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#3 Match 23, IPL 2009

JP Duminy batting for Mumbai. (Pic: Getty Images)

Mumbai beat Kolkata by nine runs in match number 23 of IPL 2009 at Buffalo Park in East London.

Batting first, MI put up 148/6 on the board in their 20 overs. Jean-Paul Duminy top-scored with 52 off 37 balls, while Sachin Tendulkar contributed 34 off 30 balls.

Zaheer Khan then came up with a brilliant spell to put KKR on the back foot. The left-arm seamer cleaned up Sourav Ganguly (nine) and Chris Gayle (seven) to leave Kolkata reeling at 8/2.

Morne van Wyk contributed 32 off 35, but it was Brad Hodge’s brilliant 73 off 60 that lifted Kolkata’s hopes.

The Australian batter struck five fours and three sixes in a fine exhibition of clean hitting. He was, however, run-out off the last ball of the penultimate over.

His dismissal left Kolkata at 130/5. MI closed out the game in the last over as KKR were held to 139/6. Zaheer finished the match with excellent figures of 3/31.

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#2 Match 51, IPL 2015

Hardik Pandya celebrates after guiding Mumbai to a win. Pic: BCCI

MI got the better of KKR in another close contest at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the 2015 edition.

In match number 51, Mumbai batted first and put up 171/4 on the board.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya came up with an excellent batting display, remaining unbeaten on 61 off 31 balls. His knock featured eight fours and two sixes. Good contributions also came from Kieron Pollard (33*), Rohit Sharma (30) and Parthiv Patel (21).

Chasing 172, Gautam Gambhir (38) and Robin Uthappa (25) got Kolkata off to a brisk start. However, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and found themselves in trouble at 128/5.

Yusuf Pathan (52 off 37) played a wonderful knock to keep KKR’s hopes alive. He struck five fours and two sixes to give Mumbai a scare.

The KKR all-rounder, was, however, dismissed by Pollard off the first ball of the 20th over. Pathan was the seventh wicket to fall with the team score at 160.

The chasing side finished at 166 as the lower-order batters could not find the big hits.

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#1 Match 7, IPL 2017

Nitish Rana batting for Mumbai Indians. Pic: BCCI

MI registered another close win over KKR in match number seven of IPL 2017 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Kolkata batted first in the game and posted a challenging 178/7.

Manish Pandey top-scored for an unbeaten 81 off 47, a splendid knock which featured five fours and as many sixes. Chris Lynn also chipped in with 32 off 24 balls.

For Mumbai, Krunal Pandya starred with 3/24, while Lasith Malinga picked up 2/36.

Mumbai got off to a solid start in the chase as Parthiv Patel (30 off 27) and Jos Buttler (28 off 22) added 65 for the first wicket.

Skipper Rohit Sharma was trapped lbw by Sunil Narine for two. However, Nitish Rana, who is incidentally leading KKR in the ongoing edition, plundered 50 off only 29 balls to give MI a massive boost.

Following his dismissal, Hardik played a scintillating cameo of 29 in 11 balls to take MI to an impressive win.

Hardik struck Trent Boult for two fours in a dramatic last over - there was a catch dropped in between as well - as MI got home by four wickets with one ball to spare.