Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered their second successive defeat in the second phase of IPL 2021 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) thrashed them by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi on Thursday (September 23).
Asked to bat first, the defending champions posted 155/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Quinton de Kock was the top scorer with 55 off 42 balls.
For the Knight Riders, the spin duo of Sunil Narine (1-20) and Varun Chakravarthy (0-22) did a commendable job with the ball. Fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson (2-27) and Prasidh Krishna (2-43) also bowled brilliantly, claiming two scalps each.
In reply, KKR rode on Rahul Tripathi’s unbeaten 74 off 42 balls and Venkatesh Iyer’s 30-ball 53 to overhaul the target with 29 deliveries to spare.
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Speaking after the match, MI skipper Rohit Sharma said that the pitch was a good one to bat and his side failed to capitalise on the good start given by him and De Kock.
"Few areas went wrong. We started really well but didn't get enough towards the back end. I thought it was a good pitch, we failed to capitalise on the start we got and we didn't bowl well at the start. I don't want to look into it too much, things can happen and you have to move on.
“After a good start we had to get small partnerships but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals, it is not easy for new batters to go in and start hitting the ball. It is something that happened in the last game as well and we will address it," Rohit, who scored 33 and added 78 runs for the opening wicket with De Kock, said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
With this defeat, Mumbai slipped to the sixth position on the points table while KKR moved to the fourth spot.
“It is always there at the back of the mind on where you stand, we are still in the middle of the table, so we have to get back and fight and hopefully get some wins on the trot," said Rohit.
Mumbai Indians will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their next game on Sunday (September 26) in Dubai.
