IPL 2018: Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Highlights: MI eke out another fine win

Mumbai, May 6: Suryakumar Yadav smashed yet another half-century and later bowlers put up a brilliant show as Mumbai Indians edged Kolkata Knight Riders by 13 runs in another must-win game for them in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 here on Sunday (May 6).

Defending a total of 181, Mumbai bowlers put up a brave show in front of a star-studded KKR batting line-up after the latter shuffled their batting order at the top.

Match Scorecard | IPL Special Page

KKR, who have won just one game so far in their 10-years' journey in the IPL against Mumbai, at one stage looked comfortable in the run chase but the dismissal of well-set Robin Uthappa (54 off 35 balls) and Nitish Rana (31 off 27) in quick succession knocked the visitors off in their run chase.

Akash Ambani and @sachin_rt share a laugh post our victory.#CricketMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians #MIvKKR pic.twitter.com/n9XyGnRGUg

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 6, 2018

KKR started their run chase with a new opening pair of Chris Lynn (17) and Shubman Gill (7) instead of going with Sunil Narine. But both the openers were dismissed by Mumbai pacers in the powerplay itself bringing in experienced Uthappa and Rana into the middle.

As the 84-run partnership between Uthappa and Rana was broken by Markande after the latter removed the KKR vice-captain for 54. Markande, however, had dropped Uthappa when he was batting at 4 which could have cost the hosts badly as the right-handed batsman went on to add 50-more runs into his account.

Once Uthappa was back into the dugout, Rohit sniffed the opportunity and rotated his bowlers well to ensure KKR could not manage to overhaul the total.

Hardik Pandya is the Purple Cap holder now in IPL 2018, with 14 wickets. #MIvKKR

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 6, 2018

Mumbai bowlers maintained the pressure after getting rid of dangerous Uthappa and in-form Rana to ensure the match doesn't slip from their hands.

Skipper Rohit Sharma rotated his bowlers well and kept things tight. Even the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were not allowed to free their arms. Finally, KKR could only reach 168 for 6 in response as Russell (9 off 10) and Narine (5 off 4) failed to deliver.

Hardik Pandya (2/19), Jasprit Bumrah (1/34) and Mitchell McClenaghan (1/30) finished their quota of 4 overs economically. While Markande (1/25) and Krunal Pandya (1/29) bowled 3 overs each.

The Bro Code 💪 💙#CricketMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians #MIvKKR pic.twitter.com/Cf3kfPh1hB

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 6, 2018

Pandya was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling figures and a knock of 20-ball 35. With this win, Mumbai have kept themselves in the hunt of the playoffs. MI have now climbed at fifth position in the points table.

Earlier, openers Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis gave Mumbai Indians a solid start as they denied the visitors any wicket in the powerplay and collected 56 runs from the first six overs after Karthik invited Rohit to bat first.

Kolkata captain Dinesh Karthik used the services of five different bowlers in the powerplay itself to get that early breakthrough but the Mumbai openers denied the visitors any success and also scored at above 9 runs per over.

Superb defence by @mipaltan. At one stage Uthupa and Rana threatened to run away with match. Hardik my MOM for all-round contribution

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 6, 2018

Evin Lewis who was looking out of form in the last few games looked in good touch as he fined his form and struck some beautiful shots. The left-handed batsman from West Indies put up an opening partnership of 91 runs with Suryakumar and gave Mumbai a strong start but he was dismissed by compatriot Andre Russell in the 10th for 43. Russell was brought into the attack by skipper Karthik in search of a wicket and he delivered in on his second ball.

Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma walked into the middle at number three, but his stay into the middle didn't last long as he was removed by Sunil Narine for 11. It was the seventh occasion when Narine got the better of the right-handed batsman in IPL.

Suryakumar Yadav, meanwhile, scored his fourth half-century of the season and continued his impressive form with the bat. The right-handed batsman from Mumbai notched up his half-century off 31 balls. However, hot and humid conditions into the middle took a toll on him as his stay didn't last long at the crease. He also became a victim of Russell after scoring 59 off 39.

Excellent result for @mipaltan. Keeps another team alive. The form of Hardik Pandya big plus for #MI

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 6, 2018

The flow of runs stopped for Mumbai after Yadav's dismissal as the bowlers didn't allow the new batsmen to score freely. Krunal Pandya played a cameo of 11-ball 14 before he fell into Sunil Narine's trap. Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten at 35 off 20 deliveries and JP Duminy (13* off 11) when Mumbai's innings came to an end. But credit must be given to Kolkata bowlers who made a strong recovery in the second half of the innings.

They conceded 55 runs in the last five overs even as Mumbai had some power hitters sitting in the dugout. This speaks volumes about the discipline KKR bowlers showed in the death-overs.

Sunil Narine (35/2) once again bowled economically and got the wickets of dangerous Rohit and Krunal. Russell (12/2) was the second best bowler for KKR as no other bowler managed to get any wickets however, they kept things tight for the batsmen.