IPL 2022 | Kolkata manage to bust Mumbai's winning streak to keep hopes alive

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) brought out their A-game, battling in a must-win game like a complete unit, as the Mumbai Indians (MI) bowed down to the challenge and lost by 52 runs in the Match No.56 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy.

While Kolkata Knight Riders eyed a 190-plus total, Mumbai's Jasprit Bumrah pushed the former's middle-order towards the wall, courtesy of his five-wicket haul. 

Thanks to Bumrah's brilliance, Mumbai Indians had to chase only 166 runs, but as their story has been in the tournament, batters again brought their team down on their knees. Skipper Rohit Sharma was expected to ride on his impressive last match knock. However, he failed to perform as Tim Southee caused his dismissal.

While Ishan Kishan held onto one end and played at a brisk strike rate in the early half of his innings, he adopted a relatively cautious approach as he saw the wickets tumble in front of him. 

Tilak Varma had a rare off-day, falling for a five-ball six. Ramandeep Singh, who was given an opportunity today, responded poorly in the pressure situation and became a victim of Andre Russell.

Tim David, unfortunately for MI, could not display his hitting prowess and was dismissed in the bid to catch up with the rising required rate. Soon after bringing up his half-century, Kishan went for a high-risk shot and mistimed an attempted pull straight to Rinku Singh.

Now, it was down to the 'Big Man' - Kieron Pollard, finally coming to his side's aid. But it was not meant to be his day (just like the rest of the tournament) as his painstaking 16-ball 15 further ended MI's bleak hopes of winning the game. 

It was a run-out galore in the end, with Pollard, Kumar Kartikeya and Jasprit Bumrah perishing while trying to complete a run, which was never on. Ultimately, the Indians lost all of their wickets at the score of 113 and suffered a 52-run beating at the hands of the Knight Riders.

Earlier in the day, Kolkata Knight Riders, after being put to bat, were off to a flyer, with Venkatesh Iyer, who made a phenomenal comeback and gave his side a rollicking start in the powerplay.

While Iyer tonked all over the park, scoring 43 runs off 24 deliveries, Rahane played the anchor role and accumulated 25 runs in 24 balls.

After both the openers departed, Nitish Rana took the matter into his own hands and ensured that KKR did not suffer from another collapse. Jasprit Bumrah rose to the occasion despite Rana's efforts, and his five-wicket haul forced KKR to slip from 136/4 to 164/9 and eventually finish at 165 runs.

Jasprit Bumrah earned the Player of the Match award for his tremendous performance with the ball in the first innings as the Indian superstar bagged five wickets to his name in his spell of four overs while giving away just ten runs against the tally.

Although Mumbai Indians have already been knocked out of the tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders live to see yet another day and still have slight chances of proceeding into the tournament's knockout stages.

Brief scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders - 165/9 (20)

Venkatesh Iyer 43(24), Nitish Rana 43(26);

Jasprit Bumrah 5-10 (4), Kumar Kartikeya 2-32 (3)

Mumbai Indians - 113/10 (17.3)

Ishan Kishan 51(43), Kieron Pollard 15(16);

Pat Cummins 3-22 (4), Andre Russell 2-22 (2.3)

Kolkata Knight Riders won by 52 runs.