Rahul Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer helped KKR beat Mumbai by seven wickets
Shyam A. Krishna, Senior Associate Editor
Electrifying innings from Rahul Tripathi (74 runs off 42 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (53 off 30) helped the Kolkata Knight Riders blitz the Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi on September 23, 2021. After the duo blazed 88 from 52 balls, Mumbai total of 155 was never enough.
Kolkata, who elected to bowl, rode out the initial storm to restrict the Mumbai Indians to 155/6 after Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma (33 off 30) and Quentin de Kock (55 off 42) set off in a hurry adding 78 for the first wicket in 9.2 overs. After the powerplay, KKR crawled back into the match. Kieron Pollard (21 off 15) and Krunal Pandya struck some lusty blows, but the final flourish never came.
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Shyam A. Krishna, Senior Associate Editor
Electrifying innings from Rahul Tripathi (74 runs off 42 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (53 off 30) helped the Kolkata Knight Riders blitz the Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi on September 23, 2021. After the duo blazed 88 from 52 balls, Mumbai total of 155 was never enough.
Kolkata, who elected to bowl, rode out the initial storm to restrict the Mumbai Indians to 155/6 after Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma (33 off 30) and Quentin de Kock (55 off 42) set off in a hurry adding 78 for the first wicket in 9.2 overs. After the powerplay, KKR crawled back into the match. Kieron Pollard (21 off 15) and Krunal Pandya struck some lusty blows, but the final flourish never came.
Read the full story here:
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, everyone. This is Trade Bad with Gulf News and Mr Cricket UAE. That is Anish Sajjan.
00:15Today we are here to discuss the Kolkata Knight Riders match with Mumbai Indians. Before we get into the match, let's hear it from Anish Sajjan.
00:25Thank you, Shyam. Thank you all. Welcome to all of you to the show. This is a match we did not expect going this way.
00:33I would say it's like the monkey taken out of the back of KKR. They have in fact demolished Mumbai Indians and put them in a situation where now they need to win their next five games.
00:44So it's going to be very tricky but KKR looking right on track, Shyam.
00:49Okay, we have with us our Gulf News readers, Sai Prasad and Abhijit and we also have Satish from Gulf News.
00:57Before I get to the readers, Satish, what's your impressions of the match? Did you expect this to go away? Because you are one of the few who said that KKR will win. Are you vindicated?
01:09Yes. And I would say the reason is, number one, Mumbai batting is still not the batting which we have seen in the past. Roy Sharma is not getting runs.
01:20And last year also, some of the matches, Ishaan Kishan was bailing them out, which was not the case. He is also a little, yet to get his touch. I wouldn't say he is out of form, he is yet to get his touch.
01:30You don't have Hardik Pandya, who used to come and play those cameo knocks later in the day towards the slog overs or the final overs. Even Krunal Pandya for that matter. Even Pollard for that matter. He used to come and play those big knocks.
01:46So these 20-30 runs were not coming in for the last two games. Of course, the way KKR openers played, or rather the top three players played, Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer, I don't think any team could have stopped them today.
02:02It's unfortunate that Mumbai had to see them in full flow. But having said that, I think Mumbai needs to get their batting act together. Maybe shuffle their batting, bring in new, change the order. But certainly the batting is not clicking for Mumbai.
02:21Abhijit, I see you are wearing the KKR colour. So, I am sure you must be a Mumbai Indians fan. Just kidding. I can see you are wearing a green. So, tell us, Kolkata could do no wrong today. Whatever Oyen Morgan did, everything worked. This was a perfect day for them. So, what's your impressions of the night?
02:47Oh, absolutely. I am over the moon at the moment. To start with, Nitish Rana opening the ball. I mean, what are we doing? It played out really well. Spin it to win it, as I said. And exceptional batting from Venkatesh. What a performer he is and what a find for KKR.
03:11I think he will be a great asset for long run. We should retain him. I would say.
03:18I don't think Sai will agree to that.
03:22He will shift to Mumbai next time.
03:25Our middle order looks good now. Despite we had a crisis earlier this season and now we have a solid line-up. And also, the intent was amazing. Taking on Trent Boult from the ball one, it was incredible. Shubman Gill, just incredible to watch.
03:50Sai, where did all go wrong for Mumbai Indians? Because they were off to a very good start. Rohit Sharma, Antoine de Kock. I think they got off to a very rousing start. Then, after the power play, everything went wrong for them.
04:04I think it all got wrong in the toss, actually. Because I always had this gut feeling in my mind that the team fielding first will win. So, I was always hoping that Mumbai will win the toss and elect fielding.
04:19But then, having said that, Rohit and de Kock came out blazing. But then after that, it was a middle order. The sky and Ishaan Kishan, they didn't click out well. And that's where everything started going down. And we didn't come out very good in the middle order.
04:35And as Satish was saying, we need to rethink our batting strategies in the middle order. And we need to also think of our bowling strategies.
04:43If you look at it, Eon Morgan started with slow bowlers. And actually, that was an indication to say that the pitch was slow. Rohit didn't get the idea there. And Rohit should have started with the slow bowlers.
04:55And he would have given them a chance. Deepak Chahar would have come out with more confidence. I have a feeling that we got it wrong in the toss, in the middle order, and the strategy of bowling.
05:03Alright.
05:08Rohit Sharma got his tactics wrong.
05:12Is that question for whom, Shyam?
05:16For you.
05:18Alright, Shyam. You know what, to be very honest, I would give credit to KKR then to criticise Rohit Sharma. For the first time, in fact, in this tournament, rather the second time, KKR has been playing the way England played.
05:33And that is what I remember writing about it. That KKR has to play the England style, which is the Gungo style. Which is fearless cricket. No matter what happens, you go bang-bang.
05:42And that is where Rohit Sharma and his team has been doing to the other oppositions. So, I remember telling this last time. If you cannot win against the opposition, you either join them or play like them.
05:54And that is what KKR has absolutely done. The combination of Brendan McCullum and Owen Morgan has finally clicked. And it looks now to be a dangerous team.
06:04And if they go on in the same style, without fearing what is going to happen about the result, this KKR team will be difficult to beat.
06:13Satish, I guess, do you agree with what Anish said? Because Mumbai cannot no longer afford the same strategy now, especially with Surya Kumar and Ishan failing repeatedly.
06:26Because, like you said, they used to wear the brand of any early fall of wickets or if there has to be any acceleration. But that hasn't happened in IPL 2021.
06:37So, do you think it is time to look beyond Surya Kumar, Anish and Krishan and look for somebody else to rejuvenate the batting? Or do you think they will run into form as the tournament progresses?
06:51But there is a worry, if you give them a longer run, Mumbai could be out of the tournament too.
07:01That's true. But, Shyam, I would still say, I don't know what's the situation with Hardik. But he could have still played the game as a bat. He is a guy who can play real good shots.
07:12Let me stop you there. Hardik didn't have a good season. In the first half, Hardik didn't do well.
07:18Yeah. It happens, Shyam. It happens. You can have the ups and you can have the downs. Again, what has happened is, it rubs off on the team.
07:25Like if the later order can come and score, the openers will also do well because they know that, okay, even if I fail, the guys coming later in the order will help the team.
07:34But now, with them failing also, now the openers don't know basically whether to attack or whether to defend or build an innings. So, it's a bit confusing situation. This is one.
07:44Number two, what I have been seeing is, the wickets are different. Like in Dubai, if you look at the first 10 overs, you got to play carefully and then build your innings.
07:53Whereas in Abu Dhabi, the first 10 overs, you go after the bowling and once the ball is old, it comes slowly. So, I think these are the strategies that will be formed over a period of next few days or so that the teams will learn that.
08:06Anees wanted to say something. Yes, Anees.
08:08No, no. I am fine now. Absolutely. You are spot on what you said, Satish.
08:12So, I think tomorrow, Ishaja is also coming into the picture. So, each wicket is different. So, I think the strategies need to be changed accordingly.
08:21Okay. Very true. Very true.
08:23Okay. Abhijit, where do we go from here? Do you think they will make the top four? I mean, they are already in the top four now, I guess.
08:33Well, it's just a few more wins and I am backing them up against CSK, playing in the same ground.
08:39Against CSK in Abu Dhabi. Same tactic. Surprise them with probably Shubman Gill opening the bowling as well. So, we will have that.
08:50On a scale note, this team looks solid on the paper and practically as well. And well-bonded. And I mean, we have the package to win the tournament.
09:06Wow. That is brave fighting dog.
09:10No, I think he is justified. He is justified in his talk after today's performance against the defending champions.
09:17Yeah. I mean, we are going to finish all the games early. So, we should be prepared.
09:22That's a bold statement, I would say.
09:25You are talking… That is a Chennai man speaking, which is why. Sai, where do Mumbai go from here? Will they remain in the top four?
09:40Because right now, they must have moved to the fifth slot. So, how do you see them going from here?
09:47First, I would like to say that criticising my team is my home team. That is why I am criticising. And I personally love Rohit Sharma's captaincy.
09:56Absolutely right. Mr. Harnesh Rajan is absolutely right. KKR played fantastically well. We were beaten by a better side today.
10:02And any day tomorrow, it will be our day. Next, we are going to play Punjab Kings, I think.
10:07And our strategies are going to be different. And I am sure Rohit Sharma is not going to give up so easily.
10:14And he is going to have a different game plan, like Satish was saying. For a different ground, different strategies.
10:19And definitely, the strategies play an important role in developing Mumbai Indians to champions.
10:25And I am confident they will defend the cup this time. I am very confident this time.
10:29Okay. Any final thoughts before we wind up for the day?
10:33You know what, I would only say this tournament is now just heating up with Mumbai losing back-to-back games, Shyam.
10:42And we are going to have a tough fight for the fourth spot. To me, the three spots seem to be secured.
10:48But you never know with RCB, they sometimes falter. But the top two are definitely secured.
10:53But for the fourth spot, there will be four teams fighting for it.
10:56Again, I will have to repeat now. Even Hyderabad is still within a chance.
11:01Satish, I wrote a piece dismissing Hyderabad's chances. You should read that.
11:09I have, John. Still, I am trying to put a counterpoint to that.
11:15Hyderabad's chances are there.
11:18Alright then. Thank you.
11:23Thank you very much, sir. Thank you very much.
11:25Shyam, you want to say bye?
11:28I think he's got to say bye.
11:30Till then, log on to Curfews.com for the latest updates. And also, our social media channels.
11:35See you guys tomorrow. Good night.
11:37Thank you very much. Bye bye. Have a great night.