IPL 8 MI vs KKR: Piyush Chawla stars in Mumbai Indians’ victory

Mumbai: Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) strength lies in their domestic players. The franchise doesn’t boast of a Chris Gayle or a Brendon McCullum. Even Andre Russell – who turned out to be a hit this season – is only three-years-old in the Indian Premier League (IPL) jungle. But Piyush Chawla – a veteran in the T20 tournament and the one who won the final for KKR in the last season – could not touch a single ball in Kieron Pollard’s last over (his only over in the match) as Mumbai Indians (MI) overcame the Knights by five runs at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.

The left-handed all-rounder (as he is called) was on strike when his team needed seven off three balls. All the three deliveries were bowled on the same line by Pollard, including a no-ball, but Chawla could not pick any. He remained unbeaten on one off seven balls. Even Yusuf Pathan (52), who was going great guns, surrendered to a short delivery by Pollard in the last over. Any opposition would be intimidated in a stadium where blue flags and the “Sachin! Sachin!” chant rules the roost but Gautam Gambhir and his boys made an Eden Gardens out of it. Chasing 172 for victory, the captain led from the front with Robin Uthappa and added 45 runs for the first wicket. Though Uthappa (25) could not capitalize after early fireworks, Gambhir kept finding the gaps and played risk-free cricket. Manish Pandey (1), who came in at number three, was run out by Lendl Simmons.

However, Gambhir along with Pathan, kept the scoreboard ticking. Hardik Pandya dropped Gambhir off Jagadeesha Suchith on 36 but on the next ball, the spinner cleaned him up. He was dismissed for 38. Shakib Al Hasan – fresh from a successful series against Pakistan – upped the ante and accelerated along with Pathan. The Bangladesh cricketer’s return to the KKR camp was quite a boost as he contributed both with the bat (23 off 15) and ball (2/22). Shakib’s dismissal was a lifeline for MI.

Earlier, KKR won the toss and elected to field. The MI openers had a sluggish start losing the firt four wickets under 80 runs. Parthiv Patel (21) – who was looking good – succumbed to Shakib. The southpaw danced down the track aiming for the fence but ended up finding Pandey in the deep midwicket area.

Simmons (14) has been good on field in the tournament, taking spectacular catches, but could not catch the eye against KKR. After a series of mistimed shots, he tried playing an uppercut to a short delivery (by Morne Morkel) but could not position himself for execution. It was a quick comeback from Morkel who conceded a six off a free hit the previous ball. Ambati Rayudu, who missed out in the last game after slamming two huge sixes, fell even early. The right-hander stepped out to Hasan but found Russell at long-off.

Rohit Sharma (30) started off well and was looking perilous for KKR. He snatched nine runs from a Chawla delivery hitting two consecutive boundaries. He cut the first one on backfoot and swept the next one on his knees before Sunil Narine opened him up. It was a flat, straight one that hoodwinked his willow and kissed the stumps. But that was not all over for the hosts, Pandya – the hero who threw his hat in the ring against Chennai Super Kings – roared yet again and ended up scoring a half-century. Along with Pollard (33 not out) – who anchored the innings with just one four and a six, the duo added 92 runs for the fifth wicket and took MI to a spirited total.

The two scored 72 runs in the last five overs. Pandya went berserk against Umesh Yadav in the 17^th over where he hit four consecutive boundaries. The 21-year-old also took on Russell and Narine reaching his half century in 24 balls. He remained unbeaten on 61 off 31 balls that included eight fours and two sixes. For KKR, apart from Shakib, Morkel shone with the ball (1/27).Lasith Malinga, R Vinay Kumar, Suchith, Mitchell McClenaghan and Harbhajan Singh took a wicket each for MI. KKR will next play Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday.