Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) went head-to-head with Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 51 of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Friday, May 3 at Wankhede. Stadium in Bombay.
After winning the toss, MI elected to bowl first in the match. The bowling unit led by Jasprit Bumrah did an excellent job in putting KKR out for 169. Bumrah and Untilhara picked up three wickets each, while Hardik Pandya got two wickets and Piyush Chawla bagged one. For KKR, Venkatesh Iyer, who loves to bat against MI, scored an excellent 70 runs.
Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir took a long walk back to the dugout without scoring any big runs. Suryakumar Yadav (56) was the only batsman who looked confident as he played his shots and kept MI in the game. However, after his dismissal, Tim David (24) also failed again and MI were restricted to 145 to lose the match by 24 runs.
Speaking after the match, MI captain Hardik Pandya blamed his team’s poor batting for the match defeat. Hardik Pandya said:
“I mean, obviously in the batting innings, we couldn’t form partnerships and we kept losing wickets; in T20s, if you don’t form partnerships, it will cost you.”
Hardik Pandya admitted that there are many questions about Mumbai Indians which will take some time to answer. Hardik Pandya stated:
“Not much, there are a lot of questions, but it will take some time to answer them, but for now, there is not much to say.”
Hardik Pandya made sure to praise his bowlers for a fantastic display and added that MI is going through a tough time but these times will make them a better unit. Hardik Pandya said:
“As you mentioned, the bowlers did a fantastic job, the wicket got a little better after the first innings and the dew came in. We’ll review the game and see what we could have done better. You keep fighting, that’s what I tell myself. “Never leave the battlefield, difficult days come but the good ones also come here, it’s challenging but challenges make you better.”
What happened in the previous match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders
The last time these two teams met was in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. They only faced each other once in that season and Mumbai Indians won comprehensively by 5 wickets with 14 balls remaining.
After being invited to bat first in the match, the Knight Riders posted 185 for 6 as Venkatesh Iyer did most of the work for the team with his incredible century. Iyer smashed 104 runs off 51 balls, with 6 fours and 9 sixes. The second highest run-getter in the innings was Andre Russell, who contributed 21 off 11 balls.
On the bowling side, Hrithik Shokeen bagged two wickets for MI, while Cameron Green, Duan Jansen, Piyush Chawla and Riley Meredith picked up one wicket each.
Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma scored just 20 but Ishan Kishan (58) and Suryakumar Yadav (43) formed a brilliant partnership and showed a batting masterclass to take MI closer to victory. After the dismissal of the duo, the middle order batsmen did a good job for the team by completing the run chase in 17.4 overs. For KKR, Suyash Sharma bagged two wickets, while Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy and Lockie Ferguson got one wicket each.