Mumbai Indians stunned Kolkata Knight Riders by restricting them to a mere 116 runs. Ashwani Kumar, making his debut for MI, stole the show with 4 wickets. KKR’s troubles began from the very first over. Their top scorer was Angkrish Raghuvanshi with a modest 26 runs.
At Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Indians opted to bowl first after winning the toss. The pitch, known for high-scoring games, saw KKR’s batting lineup struggle against MI’s deadly bowling. Half of the KKR team was back in the pavilion with just 45 runs on the board. Sunil Narine, returning to the team, was clean bowled by Trent Boult in the first over.
Despite having big-ticket players, KKR’s expensive signings failed to deliver. Venkatesh Iyer, bought for 23.75 crores, managed only 3 runs off 9 balls. Rinku Singh, retained for 13 crores, scored just 17 runs. Mumbai used 6 bowlers, and each of them took at least one wicket. Ashwani Kumar took 4, while Deepak Chahar picked up 2. Trent Boult, Hardik Pandya, Vignesh Puthur, and Mitchell Santner took one wicket each.
KKR lost 8 wickets at 88 runs, and at one point, it seemed impossible for them to even reach 100 runs. However, Ramandeep Singh’s quick 22 runs off 12 balls helped KKR reach 116 runs.
Bowling Heroics
Mumbai Indians’ bowlers were on fire, with each one contributing to the team’s dominance. The variety in their bowling attack proved too much for KKR’s batsmen to handle.
KKR’s Expensive Failures
The big-money signings failed to justify their price tags. The team’s inability to post a competitive total will be a major concern for KKR.
Mumbai Indians will look to build on this momentum, while KKR needs to regroup and find a way to get their big-ticket players firing. The pressure is on for the Knight Riders to turn their season around.
