KOLKATA (West Bengal) : Venkatesh Iyer’s stand-out performance powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 157/7 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the iconic Eden Gardens.
Rain played a spoilsport just during the time of toss, and the match officials decided to make it a 16-over contest.
After winning the toss, Hardik Pandya-led MI sent KKR to bat first. The KKR openers Philip Salt (6) and Sunil Narine (0) displayed a sloppy performance.
MI’s bowling attack was successful in picking quick wickets. Pacer Nuwan Thushara made the first breakthrough of the match as he dismissed Philip in the fifth ball of the first over. Salt started the brilliantly after he smashed a six in the first ball of the inning against Thushara.
Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah picked up the second wicket of the match after he removed dangerous Narine on his first ball in the second over.
After losing quick wickets, Venkatesh Iyer (42) stood still on the crease to take KKR to a better position.
The third wicket of the inning came when Anshul Kamboj removed KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer (7) in the fifth over. Iyer slammed just one-four during his time on the crease.
In the first powerplay, KKR scored 45 runs. While MI bagged three wickets.
Nitish Rana (33) who returned to the field after recovering from injury made a solid partnership with Venkatesh. The two added crucial runs on the scoreboard to bring KKR back into the match.
However, the partnership did not last long after Piyush Chawla removed Venkatesh in the 9th over when KKR were 77/4. The batting allrounder slammed 6 fours and 2 sixes.
After losing Venkatesh, KKR tried to play more carefully and crossed the 100-run mark in the 11th over.
Nitish and Andre Russell (24) became set on the crease and played crucial knocks. However, the 13th over became crucial for the hosts as they lost both Rana and Russell.
In the final over, Rinku Singh (20) was dismissed by Bumrah. The Indian batter slammed 2 sixes.
In the end, Ramandeep Singh (17) and Mitchell Starc (2) were unbeaten on the crease and propelled KKR to 157/7.
Brief score: Kolkata Knight Riders 157/7 (Venkatesh Iyer 42, Nitish Rana 33, Andre Russell 24; Piyush Chawla 2/28) vs Mumbai Indians. (ANI)