IPL 10, Match 54, KKR v MI – 5 Game Changing Moments

Kolkata Knight Riders hosted Mumbai Indians to decide the orientation of the top 4 teams in the table. Mumbai Indians experimented with their bench strength, giving the likes of Southee, Vinay Kumar, Saurabh Tiwary and Rayudu a chance to feature in the playing.

KKR conceded 170 runs after Gambhir won the toss and elected to field first. Ambati Rayudu was adjudged as the man of the match for contribution with the bat. Mumbai Indians managed to defend their total and end their 2-match losing streak.

In the end, it was a comfortable victory for Mumbai Indians as they won the match by 9 runs. KKR became the third team to qualify for the playoffs. Let us look at some of the game-changing moments in the game.

1. Mumbai Indians start on a positive note

After losing Lendl Simmons in the very first over of the match, Saurabh Tiwary and Rohit Sharma added 51 in the powerplay. KKR’s pace spearhead Umesh Yadav conceded 22 in his two overs while Collin De Grandhomme gave away sixteen in his first two overs. Mumbai Indians continued with the momentum even after losing the wicket of Rohit Sharma.

2. Rayudu and Tiwary turn back time with their partnership

Watching Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary together flashed back memories of IPL 2010, where the duo was responsible for setting up many wins for their side. Since then Saurabh Tiwary has been part of many franchises such as Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers, and Rising Pune Supergiant but could not find his feet in the eleven. he came back to where it all began for Tiwary as he stitched yet another match-winning partnership with Ambati Rayudu. The duo added 61 runs in 46 balls. Saurabh Tiwary scored an important 52 off 43 balls.

3. Rayudu onslaught in the death

Man of the Match Ambati Rayudu last played a match against the Rising Pune Supergiant where he was stretchered out of the field due to an untimely injury. Though Rayudu had to miss out on all the matches since then, Rayudu showed no sign of rust as he hit a 37-ball 63 as he hit six fours and three sixes. He provided the much-needed impetus at the death hitting Boult and Kuldeep Yadav to all the parts of the ground.

4. KKR losing wickets at regular intervals

Kolkata Knight Riders were not able to stitch partnerships throughout their innings chasing a challenging total of 170. Except for Uthappa and Sunil Narine, every batsman got starts but could not convert them into something substantial. Yusuf Pathan, Colin De Grandhomme, and Lynn threatened to chase down Mumbai Indians target but could not elongate their cameos.

5. Hardik Pandya’s spell

Hardik Pandya bowled a dream spell as he picked up the wickets of dangerous looking Colin De Grandhomme and Manish Pandey. Apart from those wickets, his pace and bounce were unplayable on few occasions. Hardik only conceded 22 runs in his four overs as he proved to be the most effective of the lot along with Southee and Vinay Kumar who picked up a couple of wickets each.