Mumbai Indians 195 for 5 (Rohit 80, Suryakumar 47, Mavi 2-32) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 146 for 9 (Cummins 33, Karthik 30, Pattinson 2-25) by 49 runs
A clinical Mumbai Indians played true to form to shrug off their opening game loss in IPL 2020 with a 49-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders. Put in to bat, Mumbai put on an above par 195 for 5 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, built around Rohit Sharma‘s 54-ball 80 at the top of the order. Sharma batted deep into the innings, falling only in the 18th over, with the sapping heat playing its part in a tired shot, but his effort was enough to give Mumbai’s bowlers a total that was proof against the Knight Riders’ power-packed middle order.
Mumbai’s pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, James Pattinson and Trent Boult then bowled to plans, with Bumrah particularly sensational as the Knight Riders’ chase spluttered and faltered, without ever kicking into top gear. Bumrah bowled one over in the powerplay, but Sharma saved him for the Knight Riders’ big guns thereafter, and he made a second appearance only in the 13th over, when Andre Russell had joined Eoin Morgan in the middle with the asking rate touching 14.75. By the time he had completed his third over, the chase was buried, with Bumrah snaring both Russell and Morgan within four balls and Bumrah’s figures reading 3-0-5-2. Rather anti-climatically, Bumrah conceded a whopping 27 runs in his final over to spoil his figures somewhat, but by then, the task was beyond the Knight Riders, who eventually ended up on 146 for 9.
The win also broke a sequence of six consecutive defeats for Mumbai in the UAE, dating back to when they lost five out of five games in 2014.
More to follow
Source: ESPN Crickinfo