IPL 2020 | MI vs KKR: What Experts said as Rohit Sharma and Co. breeze past the Knight Riders
Although it was the change in the captaincy of the Kolkata Knight Riders from Dinesh Karthik to Eoin Morgan that gained more traction than the match itself, Mumbai Indians wasted no time in registering its 11th win over KKR in the last 12 games including the two this season.
The Rohit Sharma led team defeated Morgan’s side by eight wickets chasing down 149 with ease. The game turned out to be a one-sided affair in Abu Dhabi, much like the last meeting between the two teams at the same venue in the initial phase of the tournament.
For Mumbai Indians, Rahul Chahar led with the bowl, while Quinton de Kock did the same thing with the bat. For KKR though it was a case of disappointments all around apart from late order brilliance by Pat Cummins with the willow in hand.
Captains’ Viewpoint
Rohit Sharma seemed very happy with the results of the game and talking about the same in the post-match presentation, “It's special to chase and win, gives us plenty of confidence. We didn't chase a lot in the first half (of the tournament), think we were clinical with both bat and ball, the expected performance was there.”
The skipper then went to say that he plans every game thinking about matchups between his players and that of the opposition. Expanding upon it, he explained how he had planned for the KKR all-rounder Andre Russell’s batting. “I believe a lot in match-ups, we have got success as a team (doing it),” Rohit said.
“Understanding the match-ups is important but we need to be instinctive at times. Krunal and Rahul also bowled to Russell, I took a chance with the ball gripping and turning, but I knew Bumrah was the go-to guy against him,” added the 33-year-old.
Impressed by fellow opener and South Africa captain Quinton de Kock, Sharma said, “I prefer batting with him (de Kock), he's very straightforward, likes to take on the bowler from the word go - but I usually like to assess the situation.” Adding that he would let de Kock play his natural game so that he too can enjoy the time in the middle, Sharma said, “I don't want to put any pressure on him.”
Calling the tournament a funny proposition for everybody involved, especially the teams and the players, the Mumbaikar said, “This tournament is very funny, can't take the foot off the pedal at any time, we have seen teams lose at times.”
“The guys are very hungry, they haven't played a lot over the last six months - be it Ishan or Hardik, they want to play and they want to win,” he concluded.
On the other hand, Eoin Morgan, who was leading the men in Purple and Gold felt that the team needed to do a bit more and by the end of the first innings itself, they had thrown themselves out of the contest. “We weren’t in the race at all really, being four or five down,” he said. Adding that the score they made in the first innings was never challenging, he said, “Guys fought hard but just not enough runs on the board.”
“When a team like Mumbai plays like that, they are hard to stop,” Morgan said while praising opposition. Ireland born English captain then admitted that even after having a lot of experience in the middle, the batters have not been able to adapt to the situation. “[At] No.4, 5, and 6 we have a lot of experience. We’re trying to adapt according to the situations.” “Don’t think it would have made much difference today,” he added.
Expert Opinion
More or less, experts after and during the match were of the view that Mumbai Indians have been flawless this year while Kolkata with their decision-making in terms of playing the matchday 11 have been pathetic.
Talking about how Kolkata has messed up their entire season, veteran cricket expert Ayaz Memon said that the KKR team looks terribly short of confidence and due to Narine sitting out and Russell being in a bad form, the troubles have just expanded for the team.
Harsha Bhogle, the renowned cricket commentator called Mumbai a complete team with no visible flaws.
Former India cricketer now turned cricket pundit, Aakash Chopra too echoed Harsha's ideas and furthered it by saying that the two finalists for this year's show could Delhi and Mumbai.
Boria Majumdar, a senior cricket journalist was of the opinion that Andre Russell in the Kolkata team hasn't been able to perform, as per expectations and therefore, the team could try new talent.
Sambit Bal, a senior cricket journalist predicted the game to be the first of ever slow thriller along with a doubt that it might not happen due to Mumbai's brilliant batting lineup and all his fears and doubts indeed came true.
While Kolkata would like to see their new captain turn things around with a reshuffling of the batting order when they next play against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 18th October. For Mumbai, it would be a chance to get into the playoffs with the most wins when they face Kings XI Punjab on the 18th as well.
 "Mayank Kumar")
