Before the ICC World T20 2016, Gautam Gambhir made a statement when he called Rohit Sharma a more dangerous Twenty20 (T20) batsman than the ever-consistent Virat Kohli. Gambhir mentioned that Rohit has hurt him more in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit continued his honeymoon run against Gambhir’s Kolkata Knight Riders as MI registered their fourth win this season to climb up to the third position in the IPL points table.
This was KKR’s second loss this season and ironically, both of their defeats have come against MI. This was déjà-vu of their last defeat against MI. KKR batted first, scored a total which seemed around 15-run short, Gambhir scored a half century and then Rohit finished it off in style. READ MORE: IPL 2016, Match 24, Pick of the tweets: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Mumbai
KKR were pushed on the back foot when they lost the toss and were invited to bat. With smaller boundaries and dew factor coming in, Wankhede Stadium is one of the most difficult places to defend a total and Kolkata were at least 15 to 20 runs short. However, they got off to a flyer and were 59 for no loss after six overs. Despite Gambhir’s half-century, KKR did not get the finish they would have hoped for. Gambhir now has most 50s in IPL.
MI started off well. The partnership between Rohit and Ambati Rayudu set the game for them and it was Kieron Pollard blitz in the end that sealed it.
Turning Point: MI need 49 runs from five overs with Pollard and Rohit at the crease. They were definitely in a favourable position at that time but like we saw in the last game (Delhi Daredevils vs Gujarat Lions), one or two good overs can change the game. In a decision that baffled most, Gambhir gave the 16th over to part-time medium pacer R Sathish. Pollard smacked three sixes and plundered 23 runs. That was it.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 174 for 5 in 20 overs [Robin Uthappa 36 (20), Gautam Gambhir 56 (45); Tim Southee 4-0-38-2] lost to Mumbai Indians 178 for 4 in 18 overs [Rohit Sharma 68 (49), Ambati Rayudu 32 (20), Kieron Pollard 51 (17)*] by six wickets.
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