IPL 2019: Match 56, MI vs KKR – Mumbai Indians Player Ratings

The stage was set at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai for the final league game of the 2019 edition of the IPL. Hosts Mumbai Indians eyed a top-two finish in the points table as they hosted the Kolkata Knight Riders in the marquee clash. The all or nothing encounter for the KKR ended in heartbreak as they were beaten by the Rohit Sharma-led side. While the match proved to be the end of the road for the Knight Riders, it helped MI storm to the top of the points table. They will now lock horns with the Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 of the season.

Earlier in the game, MI skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first. The move did not seem to be right as Shubman Gill and Chris Lynn added quick 49 runs for the first wicket. Hardik Pandya was introduced into the attack and he dismissed Gill to trigger the impossible-seeming KKR batting breakdown. No batter could show resilience at the crease after Lynn’s dismissal on 41. The big hitters – Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik – perished cheaply. Robbie Uthappa had a painful stay at the crease. His 40 off 47 balls took KKR to 133/7 in the stipulated 20 overs.

In the run chase, MI got a firm base with their openers doing well in the power play. Quinton de Kock perished after scoring 30, but Rohit Sharma carried on till the end of the run chase. He found an able partner in Suryakumar Yadav, who stayed unbeaten with him to see the hosts register a thumping win. The duo added 88 runs for the second wicket and their unbeaten partnership was too good for KKR’s bowling line up on the day. Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets.

Here are the MI Player Ratings for the match:

Quinton de Kock – 6/10

Quinton de Kock had a good day behind the stumps. He pocketed a couple of very good catches and looked impressive with his glove work, as he has been throughout the season. With the bat, he got a good start but failed to make the most out of it. With a modest total on board, he had ample opportunity in the match to make it big. He perished after scoring 30 off 23 balls, studded with a four and three sixes.

Rohit Sharma – 9/10

Rohit Sharma played the captain’s knock in this game. Coming into the game, Rohit had largely underperformed compared to the standards that he had set for himself. In this game, chasing a modest total, the MI skipper was sensible enough to take things deep and take responsibility for the anchoring role. He played a fine knock of an unbeaten 55 that came at a rather sluggish yet effective rate. Rohit’s 55 came off 48 deliveries and was composed with 8 fours.

Suryakumar Yadav – 9/10

Suryakumar Yadav came in to bat in the 7th over after the fall of QDK’s wicket. He added 88 runs with skipper Rohit Sharma to ensure that his side was over the line with almost 4 overs to spare. In the partnership, Rohit played the calmer role as Yadav took charge when needed. He scored an unbeaten 46 off 27 deliveries with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name. This included the winning shot that went sailing over the fence for a six.

Ishan Kishan – Not Assigned

Ishan Kishan did not get a chance to bat in this game.

Krunal Pandya – 8/10

Krunal Pandya had a good time on the field. He was the most economical bowler for his team in this marquee clash. Having bowled his complete quota of four overs, Krunal conceded just 14 runs. He bowled with an economy rate of 3.5 after having been asked to bowl in the power play this game. While he failed to pick up wickets, he ensured that he kept things tight at his end to mount pressure on the opposition batters.

Hardik Pandya – 8.5/10

Hardik Pandya has been a star performer for MI this season, and the all-rounder continued his good form in the match. He has been in the news for his batting on most occasions. In this game though, he made the headlines for being a successful bowler. On the very first ball that he bowled in the match, he trapped Shubman Gill lbw. Soon, he accounted for the dismissal of Chris Lynn too. Hardik bowled 3 overs and conceded 20 runs. He did not get an opportunity to bat in the match.

Kieron Pollard – Not Assigned

Kieron Pollard did not get a chance to bat in the game, neither was he used to bowl in the match.

Mitchell McClenaghan – 9/10

Mitch McClenaghan was drafted back in the playing eleven after a brief sabbatical in the season. The Kiwi pacer had an excellent start to his bowling mark up in the game as he bowled a maiden first up. He went on to continue his tight spell of bowling and emerged as one of the most economical bowlers for MI in the match. He was unlucky to have not picked up any wicket though and finished with 0/19 in four overs.

Rahul Chahar – 1/10

Unlike the previous games, Rahul Chahar did not get a lot of overs to bowl in the match. He was tried with just one over and he conceded 12 runs in it. With Hardik Pandya bowling well as the fifth bowler, skipper Rohit Sharma persisted with Pandya and that meant Chahar had a short day at work with the ball in hand.

Jasprit Bumrah – 8/10

Jasprit Bumrah’s good run of form continued in yet another game. The premium Indian pacer bowled with good pace and hit his line and lengths to perfection. He did go away for some runs in the middle overs but was quick to pull things back for himself and for the team. He took two wickets on the final two deliveries of the KKR innings and finished with numbers of 2/31 in his quota of four overs.

Lasith Malinga – 9/10

Lasith Malinga has been bowling with guile and precision this season. Albeit he has been a tad expensive, he has emerged as a wicket-taking bowler throughout this season. He scalped three big wickets of the KKR middle order in this game. He sent Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell packing in the same over to dent the KKR hopes big time. With Dre Russ back in the hut, MI edged a big psychological advantage in the game. Later, Malinga also took the wicket of Nitish Rana to finish with 3/35 to his name.

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