Venkatesh Iyer of Kolkata Knight Riders plays a shot during the IPL match against the Mumbai Indians, at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Image Credit: ANI
Dubai: Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders won their second straight Indian Premier League game with a seven-wicket beating against the titular Mumbai Indians tonight to place in the top four.
Opener Venkatesh Iyer smashed 53 and set up an offensive partnership at the second wicket of 88 with Rahul Tripathi, who achieved an unbeaten 74, as Kolkata pursued their goal of 156 in 15.1 overs in Abu Dhabi.
Iyer made an early impact in the relaunched Twenty20 tournament after his unbeaten 41 win in the team’s previous victory over Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Big model
“The first two games of this second phase have been a great model for us,” Morgan said after his team climbed to fourth in the eight-team standings led by the Delhi Capitals.
“There is only one way for us to go in the points table, and that is at the top.”
Southpaw Iyer hit 50 of 25 to knock out Mumbai bowling alley led by fast New Zealand Trent Boult.
He fell to the pace of pitcher Jasprit Bumrah, but Tripathi kept the charge in his 42-ball blitz with eight fours and three sixes.
“We were trying to get Iyer into the XI with a lot of talented guys, and it’s fantastic with the way he scored points,” Morgan said of Iyer, 26.
KKR chased 156 on 15.1 overs with Rahul Tripathi achieving 74 on 52 balls and Venkatesh Iyer a 30 balls 53 in his second IPL appearance.
The five-time champions from Mumbai started strong with a first stand of 78 points between skipper Rohit Sharma, who scored 33, and Quinton de Kock, who had 55.
But Kolkata bowlers quickly fought back to stifle the flow of opposition running with regular wickets as Mumbai finished 155 for six after being asked to strike first.
New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson and his fast-paced colleague Prasidh Krishna took two wickets.
Man of the match
West Indies spinner Sunil Narine returned economic numbers 1-20 from his four overs, securing the key wicket for Sharma. He was named man of the match.
It was a forgettable comeback for Sharma who had missed the team’s previous loss to the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL resumption on Sunday in the United Arab Emirates.
The tournament sparked fear on Wednesday when Hyderabad’s left-arm swift Thangarasu Natarajan tested positive for the coronavirus and isolated with six other close contacts, but their match against Delhi continued.
The IPL was halted in May due to pandemic deaths in India, prompting foreign players to return home and many did not return, including England’s Ben Stokes (Rajasthan Royals) and Australia’s Pat Cummins (Kolkata) .
