Premier pacer Pat Cummins acted with the bat like never before, equaling the record for the fastest fifty in the IPL, scoring 35 runs in an over as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians by five wickets on Wednesday. Cummins completed his half-century in just 14 balls, joining KL Rahul at the top of the leaderboard, while opener Venkatesh Iyer smashed his unbeaten 41-ball 50 as KKR chased down 162 runs in four overs. completed. Abandon.
It was unbelievable stuff from Cummins as KKR needed 35 off 30 balls, with the Australian Test captain hitting six sixes and four fours in his 15-ball 56 to get them all in just six balls.
Daniel Sams bore most of the brunt of Cummins’ attack, conceding 35 runs in the 16th over, which sealed it for KKR.
Along with Iyer, number six Cummins shared a 61-run stand in just 2.1 overs to overhaul MI’s total of 161 for four.
MI, thus, rolled on with their third loss in as many matches.
KKR got off to a great start by scoring 16 runs in the first four overs. The wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Shreyas Iyer made life difficult for KKR as they were reduced to 35 for two in the sixth over.
Sam Billings scored 17 off 12 balls before being dismissed by Murugan Ashwin.
Iyer, on the other hand, went about his business in his own way and kept the scoreboard ticking.
While Iyer stood firm at one end, wickets kept falling from the other as Nitish Rana failed once again, caught by Sams at deep midwicket off Ashwin.
Andre Russell hit a five-ball 11 before he trapped Iyer, topping Tymal Mills’ short delivery to Dewald Brevis.
Cummins then attacked the opposition and smashed Mills for a four and a six off successive deliveries.
After conceding 23 runs in the final over, when MI batted, Cummins brought the MI bowlers across the field to take KKR home in spectacular fashion.
Earlier, veteran Kieron Pollard complemented Suryakumar Yadav’s quick half-century by scoring 23 runs in the final over to propel MI forward when KKR kept things tight for a major part of their innings.
After an 83-run stand for the fourth wicket between Suryakumar Yadav (52) and Tilak Verma (38 not out), Pollard (22 not out) ended Mumbai’s innings by dismissing world’s leading fast bowler Pat Cummins for three sixes. .
KKR’s opening bowlers opted to bowl first on a fresh pitch with plenty of grass, as pacer Umesh Yadav (1/25) and debutant Rasikh Salam (0/18) tried to trouble MI’s opening pair. Make full use of the circumstances. Captain Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan.
Umesh and Cummins (2/49) picked up early wickets to reduce MI to 55 for three.
Umesh looked the more dangerous of the two as he relentlessly tested the high-profile MI opening batsmen with the length of his check, scoring a brilliant first over that conceded just one run.
Salam tried to match his senior supporter.
Umesh shed first blood in the third over to dismiss Rohit for the fifth time in the IPL, with the MI skipper failing to control a pull.
Then came another debutante Dewald Brevis (29), known as ‘Baby AB’ for his 360-degree shot-making abilities, and tried to attack the KKR bowlers.
He was successful in his attempt for a brief period, hitting two fours and as many sixes, but fell to Varun Chakravarthy (1/32).
All the while, MI’s man-in-form Ishaan Kishan (14 off 21) was a quiet spectator at the other end.
Unlike his last two innings, Kishan seemed to be struggling right from the start and the poor start didn’t help him either.
Kishan’s struggle came to an end in the 11th over when he pulled Cummins to KKR captain Shreyas Iyer.
Verma was relieved in the 13th over when Ajinkya Rahane diddge him after a tussle with Billings.
Yadav gave some momentum to Mumbai’s innings by hitting a four and a big six in the last two balls of the same over.
Verma grabbed the missed opportunity with both hands and scooped Cummins over fine leg for a maximum and then chased it down with a slash at mid-wicket off Chakraborty.
publicized
Yadav, on the other hand, looked in ominous form after returning from injury, making use of mostly fours and sixes to complete his fifty in 34 balls.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article