KKR vs MI | Player Ratings: Mumbai Indians suffer tragic defeat despite Hardik Pandya’s heroic onslaught
While Chasing 233 against Kolkata Knight Riders, Hardik Pandya came out all guns blazing to score 91 off 34 deliveries to ensure Mumbai Indians lost with some respect at Eden Gardens. Pandya lacked support from other batsmen as Mumbai Indians lost the high-voltage encounter by 34 runs.
Quinton de Kock (1/10): With Mumbai Indians having a mountain to climb in the run-chase, their openers needed to go all guns blazing. De Kock tried to take on Sunil Narine with a slog sweep, but the extra bounce and not enough room only resulted in a top-edge. A lot of MI’s hopes relied on de Kock’s success, but his early fall only dented the run-chase.
Rohit Sharma (2.5/10): Eden Gardens and Rohit Sharma share an old romance; he loves this ground like no other and has scripted history with the bat. MI badly wanted him to rekindle one of those memories tonight, but the rush to get quick runs, perhaps, got the better of the skipper. Rohit’s dismissal only steered his side to hot water and with the target being such a huge one, the hopes only got bleaker.
Evin Lewis (2.5/10): After losing both the openers quite early, the task only got bigger for the likes of Evin Lewis. The situation demanded runs at a brisk pace and Lewis’ 16-ball stay didn’t generate a lot of hope. MI did have some explosive batting to come and needed a platform which Lewis failed to provide after being dismissed by Andre Russell for 15.
Suryakumar Yadav (4.5/10): Although the conditions were conducive for batting, scoring massive runs still requires some hitting and temperament. Suryakumar looked dogged and remained unaffected by the wickets tumbling at the other end. He was garnering the momentum that MI were badly looking for, but some clever change of pace resulted in his fall on 26 off 14. MI would have certainly found themselves in a better position had Yadav batted for few more overs.
Kieron Pollard (3/10): When Pollard walked in to bat, the situation demanded to go maniacal, the run-rate was on the climb with every dot ball. Hardik’s onslaught already put enough pressure on KKR bowlers to make some mistakes, but Pollard’s sluggish run didn’t help MI at all and eventually fell prey to Narine’s persistence.
Hardik Pandya (9/10): With not a lot of options working out for Rohit in the middle overs, Hardik put in the hard yards in the 13th over and he lived up to the expectations by conceding just four runs. On a night where bowlers were getting hammered, Pandya delivered economical first two overs, but Russell deciphered him in the third, squeezing out 19 off the last five balls. With the bat, there are just no words to describe the kind of havoc Pandya wreaked and helped his side rise from the ashes. His innings was easily one of the best played in the history of the IPL and ensured MI didn’t surrender meekly. 91 off 34 speaks the kind of magic Pandya weaved at Edens.
Krunal Pandya (4/10): It takes a lot to put brakes on the openers after the side has conceded 14 runs in the final over, but Krunal Pandya proved his worth with the new ball by giving away just two runs and pulled things back for MI. However, KKR openers wasted no time in cutting loose and when they did so, Krunal looked like a mediocre bowler. Krunal chipped in with some runs lower down the order but the asking rate was just beyond his reach.
Rahul Chahar (2/10): On a surface that looked good for batting, Chahar hardly had anything going his way. Apart from the dismissal of Chris Lynn, Chahar’s leg spin hardly posed a threat tonight. He did bowl well, but that came in patches and had the ball gripped enough Chahar would have looked like a different bowler. Nevertheless, this could well be a lesson for the budding leggie where he needs to invent a few tricks when the bowler is going after him.
Lasith Malinga (3/10): Age seems to be just a number for the Sri Lankan legend as he has grown into a fine wine over the years. However, his outing tonight was not something he would be proud of. Although Lynn was dropped in his second over, Malinga erred in length more often than not and did nothing to put brakes on KKR’s run. He is a veteran and the senior-most bowler in this line-up, but KKR batsmen, especially Russell showed no mercy to anyone whatsoever.
Jasprit Bumrah (3.5/10): With KKR openers firing on all cylinders, Rohit summoned Bumrah in the fifth with an intent to get a breakthrough. But it hardly proved fruitful as KKR openers looked determined and were in no mood to give away anything easily. Figures of none for 44 is not something a bowler of Bumrah’s calibre is associated with.
Barinder Sran (1/10): There is no denying the fact that Sran was under immense pressure on his debut this season and it was clearly evident in his very first over, where Shubhman Gill took him for cleaners. But Sran could have done better than what he eventually did. He was erratic most of the times and became very predictable under the pump.