IPL 2018, KKR vs MI: Hits and Misses

Kolkata Knight Riders faced Mumbai Indians for the second time in three days. The hosts, KKR won the toss and inserted MI into bat first. Mumbai who won the previous encounter between the two sides were off to a sedate start as they reached 62/2 in 9 overs.

But the arrival of Ishan Kishan completely changed the complexion of the game. The 19-year-old wicket-keeper batsman smashed a 21-ball 62 striking 5 fours and 6 sixes and took MI’s score from 62 to 145 in the span of 6 overs. Camoes from Hardik Pandya and Ben Cutting helped MI go past the 200-mark and finish with a flourish.

Chasing 211, KKR were off to a bad start as they lost Sunil Narine off the second ball of the innings. Chris Lynn looked good for a big innings but was run out for 21. And since then KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never looked like they were in the chase. Eventually, they slipped to 108 all out and slumped to a massive defeat.

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#5 Hit: Ben Cutting

Ben Cutting's 9-ball 24 helped MI get over 200.

Ben Cutting hasn’t had a lot to do in this IPL. He hasn’t really got the opportunity to show his worth with both bat and ball. Before this game, Cutting batted in just 2 innings (and faced just 15 deliveries) out of the 5 games he played and also didn’t finish his quota in even one game.

However, in this game, the Australian all-rounder got to bat at No. 6 ahead of JP Duminy and Krunal Pandya. He walked out in the 19th over and struck his first ball for six. He then hit two sixes and one four in the last over to give help MI finish with a flourish. MI had done really well to recover from a sedate start and it was important to continue that momentum. Hence, Cutting’s 9-ball 24 was an important knock.

The 31-year-old Queenslander then took an excellent catch to dismiss Nitish Rana and also took a wicket at the fag end of the chase.

#4 Miss: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav has not been at his best in this IPL.

Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t had the best of IPLs this year. In his last five games, the chinaman has picked up just two wickets and clearly hasn’t been at his best.

In this game, he was once again disappointing as he was taken for a lot of runs. He came onto bowl in the 8th over of the game and conceded 8 runs as Suryakumar Yadav hit a boundary off the fourth delivery. But after that first then it was Ishan Kishan’s brutal attack on the 23-year-old chinaman.

Kishan hit Kuldeep for a six in the latter’s 2nd over before smashing four consecutive ones in the 14th over of the innings. It was sensational hitting as India’s premier limited-overs spinner was smashed for 43 runs in his 3 overs.

#3 Hit: Pandya brothers

Hardik Pandya has been brilliant in the last few games.

Both Hardik and Krunal Pandya have been vital for Mumbai over the last few years. Their performance has been a big part of MI’s success. However, in the first few games of this season, both of them weren’t at their best. Krunal was bowling well but wasn’t doing well with the bat while Hardik has improved a lot with the ball.

However, as the tournament is approaching towards the business end, they have contributed in a big way as MI have completely turned around their campaign. In this game, batting first, Ishan Kishan had given MI an excellent platform and Hardik Pandya then contributed with a 19-run cameo before Krunal Pandya struck a six off the last ball to help MI touch 210.

With the ball, the Pandya brothers picked up two wickets each as MI restricted KKR to just 108. The junior Pandya picked up the key wickets of Andre Russell and Nitish Rana while Krunal wrapped up the tail after bowling an excellent first spell (giving just 9 runs in 2 overs).

Hence, it was a good outing for both the Pandya brothers and MI will hope that the Baroda all-rounders continue their good form.

#2 Miss: Andre Russell

Andre Russell failed with both bat and ball in this game.

Andre Russell was always going to a key player for KKR. Just before the tournament, he was injured but he recovered well and has played every game this season. However, he hasn’t looked comfortable at all, especially with the ball. He has struggled to get through his overs and has rarely completed his quota of 4 overs. His batting form was excellent at the start but that has faded away as well.

In this game, the West Indian all-rounder opened the bowling and conceded just 5 runs in his first over. He then came back in the 12th over and struggled big time. Hence, he bowled just 2 overs (conceding 16 runs) and didn’t look like he was at his best, especially in terms of fitness.

Chasing 211, Russell was always going to be a vital player. However, he failed to get going and managed only 2 off 4 deliveries. Thus, it was a poor game for the West Indian all-rounder.

#1 Hit: Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan looked in blistering form in this game.

After a good start to this IPL, Ishan Kishan was slowing tapering away. In his last 3 innings (before this game), he registered two ducks. However, he was superb in this game against KKR as he registered the joint-second fastest half-century of this season.

Kishan strode out to bat at the end of the 9th over after the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav. The second ball the Jharkhand wicket-keeper batsman faced was smashed one over long-on for six and got off the mark. He then struck 3 fours off Piyush Chawla in the next over and raced off to 21 from 9 balls.

MI suddenly found life in their innings but it was the 14th over that really gave them impetus that they needed. Kishan smashed four sixes off Kuldeep Yadav and helped MI fetch 25 runs off that over as their run-rate started touching 10.

He hit another maximum in the next over against Sunil Narine before holing out at deep square-leg. But Kishan had done the job for his team as he had scored a blistering 21-ball 62. His knock comprised of 5 fours and 6 sixes as he completely changed the momentum of the innings.

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