Knight Riders capitulate to Mumbai Indians despite brilliant century by Venkatesh

Heave-ho! Venkatesh entered the record books, becoming the second Knight Rider to run up an IPL century.
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK

Venkatesh Iyer made it to the record books on Sunday as he became the second Kolkata Knight Riders cricketer, after Brendon McCullum, to score a century (104, 51b, 6×4, 9×6) in the Indian Premier League.

On a Wankhede Stadium surface where the batters struggled against cutters and slower deliveries, Venkatesh rode on some clean hitting to bring up his maiden ton and also guided KKR to 185 for six.

Heartbreak

Counter-thrust: Ishan Kishan’s half-century went a long way in Mumbai pulling it off against Knight Riders.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK

But at the end, it was heartbreak for the visiting side as Mumbai Indians rode on Ishan Kishan’s half-century and a crucial 43 (25b, 4×4, 3×6) by Suryakumar Yadav to clinch a five-wicket win.

Venkatesh’s innings had given KKR hope but as the game progressed, things went MI’s way with the KKR bowlers, barring spinner Suyash Sharma (two for 27), failing to make an impact.

After struggling in the first three games, Suryakumar, leading MI as Rohit Sharma had to sit out in the first innings due to a stomach bug, stepped up when it mattered and forged two crucial partnerships — a 60 with Tilak Varma and a 29-run stand with Tim David — to guide the team home with 14 balls to spare.

Good news: Suryakumar Yadav rediscovering his form augurs well for Mumbai Indians’ campaign.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK

Chasing a tall total, Rohit came in as Impact Player, replacing Riley Meredith, and forged a 65-run opening partnership with Kishan, before a screamer of a catch by Umesh Yadav off Suyash sent him back to the dugout.

But Suryakumar and Kishan showed resilience and even after Kishan was cleaned up by Varun Chakravarthy, Suryakumar stood firm and eventually got the team closer to the target.

Losing the plot

However, KKR would be disappointed with the way it lost the plot despite Venkatesh’s heroics. MI handed a debut to Arjun Tendulkar, who opened the proceedings and conceded 17 runs in two overs. But it was Cameron Green, who struck first and dismissed N. Jagadeesan for a duck.

Piyush Chawla and Hrithik Shokeen tightened the noose as neither Rahmanullah Gurbaz nor Nitish Rana could make an impression. But Venkatesh overcame the challenging conditions and rebuilt. But after he fell to Meredith, KKR could score only 45 runs in the last five overs.