Twitter Reactions: KKR’s Mumbai Indians jinx continue in a game of collapses

31 needed off 30 balls with 6 wickets in hands would have been the chasing team’s game to lose eleven days out of ten. And yet, it was that day for KKR, who lost a game they dominated in large parts; a game that they might have fancied ending with 4 overs to spare if not for an out-of-nowhere collapse set in motion. But it seems it is not meant to be for KKR to beat Mumbai in the IPL.

As the skipper of an unchanged XI, Eoin Morgan, called correctly and invited the Mumbai Indians to bat, Rohit Sharma voiced the most obvious and expected change: Quinton de Kock came in for Chris Lynn. To the pleasant surprise of everyone, Morgan opened the bowling with spin from both ends, with Harbhajan Singh and Varun Chakravarthy operating in tandem. The ploy paid immediate results when de Kock, trying to deposit the latter over long-on, picked out Rahul Tripathi.

Clarifying his intentions early, Suryakumar Yadav, at three, slammed as many fours off Harbhajan Singh to set up the Indians’ mundane innings. It was evident after the initial few overs that the track was not the easiest to bat, with the ball holding and gripping well for the turners. Although, it made little difference for Yadav, who was in his elements from the moment he entered. Even as his skipper Rohit Sharma struggled to find the smallest bit of momentum, he continued with admirable fluency from his end.

Russell, Cummins dent Mumbai Indians

Such was his dominance that as many as 56 off the 76-run second-wicket partnership came off his bat, which included a whopping 99-meter six off Pat Cummins close to the halfway mark. The partnership was broken when Yadav got more elevation than distance on a tossed-up delivery from Shakib al Hasan, which ended straight in Shubman Gill’s hands at long-on. Things went downhill for the Indians as Cummins removed Ishan Kishan cheaply, while both Hardik Pandya and Rohit struggled to get a move on.

For the second time in as many games, Mumbai’s death-over returns painted a worrisome image and in a dramatic collapse that followed, they scored 38/7 in the final five overs. Sharma chopped on a Cummins off-cutter onto his stumps, Hardik Pandya holed out to mid-off off Prasidh Krishna, before Russell, introduced in the 18th over, undid Kieron Pollard and Marco Jansen in a space of two deliveries. He returned and finished with an incredible fifer in a two-over spell, dismissing Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rahul Chahar in a space of four deliveries in the final over.

Sturdy start for KKR

Chasing an under-par 153, Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill made light work of the chase, adding 72 for the first wicket to put KKR in pole position. In a stroke-filled partnership of 54 balls, both Rana and Gill took the attack to Trent Boult, picking 11 runs off his second over, before hitting Jasprit Bumrah for a couple of fours in the fourth. Having got 45 without any loss at the end of the powerplay, Rana smacked a four and six off Pollard just an over before his partner holed out Rahul Chahar to long-off.

Dramatic bump ft. Chahar and Boult 

Chahar returned to remove Rahul Tripathi, getting him caught behind cheaply, to apply brakes on KKR’s free-flowing innings. The breakthrough infused energy in the dull MI camp, as they built pressure, and it paid off too as Eoin Morgan deposited Chahar straight into the hands of midwicket. Amid all the drama, the Indians got a scare when Rohit Sharma introduced himself to bowl, and twisted his ankle badly, although without much harm. On the final delivery of his spell, Chahar took the tally of his wickets to four as he enticed Rana out of his crease to get him stumped.

In a nervy passage of play that followed, Krunal Pandya claimed for Shakib al Hasan, although he dropped a caught and bowled chance in the same over to give Andre Russell a reprieve. The big man was second-time lucky when Bumrah dropped a skier off Krunal in the 17th. However, only 7 runs in the next two overs brought the equation down to 15 needed off the final over, where Boult grabbed a return catch to send back Russell before his searing yorker uprooted Pat Cummins’ stumps. Harbhajan Singh could only manage two on the penultimate ball as KKR stumbled to a 10-run loss.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: