IPL 2020 MI vs KKR: Overwhelming Mumbai Indians defeat KKR by 8 wickets in Morgan’s first match as KKR captain
A commanding win by defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) by 8 wickets versus Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lift MI to the top of the IPL 2020 points table. Eoin Morgan’s first game as a captain for KKR was a one to forget as they were outplayed by a dominating Mumbai Indians in bowling as well as batting.
Eoin Morgan won the toss in his first game as KKR captain and elected to bat first. However, a sharp-looking MI bowling attack foiled KKR’s attempt to score big runs. Half the KKR team were in the pavilion at a score of 61/5 at one stage of the game. Pacer Pat Cummins came to the rescue of KKR after slamming his maiden fifty in IPL 2020 with the help of which KKR made 148/5 at the end of the innings.
Chasing 149 runs MI grabbed the opportunity with both the hands, as openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock notched up 94 runs partnership in the tournament. De Kock was the more aggressive of the two as Rohit played his part cautiously. The partnership was broken by Shivam Mavi who took the wicket of Rohit Sharma for 35 runs off 36 balls. Suryakumar Yadav failed to leave an impression in the game other than a brilliant catch and got out for 10 runs. De Kock however remained unbeaten on 78 runs, along with Hardik Pandya’s 21 runs, MI eased on KKR to defeat them by 8 wickets.
Also Read:IPL 2020: ‘It’s a selfless decision’ – Eoin Morgan praises Dinesh Karthik for putting the team first
Pat Cummins-a blessing in disguise for KKR
Patrick Cummins is the most expensive player in this season’s Indian Premier League. The Australian fast-bowler came out as the top run-getter for KKR and with his maiden fifty in the IPL 2020. KKR batting first were in trouble as MI bowlers wreaked havoc. Shubman Gill and skipper Eoin Morgan were the consistent performers at the top half of KKR’s batting lineup. Other batters including Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, and Rahul Tripathi fell cheaply and the KKR were 61/5 after 10.5 overs.
Cummins and Morgan kept the runs flowing and maximized the target in the final overs. Cummins made 53 from 33 balls smashing 5 boundaries and two sixes, while Morgan made 39 runs in 29 balls.
For MI, Rahul Chahar picked up the wicket of Karthik and Gill while Bumrah took danger-man Russells’s wicket. Nathan Coulter Nile was included in the MI side in place of James Pattinson but he turned out expensive with bowling figures pf 4-0-51-1. Trent Boult picked up one wicket while Krunal Pandya remained wicketless for 23 runs.
MI with this win are now top of the table with 12 points in 8 games played so far. Defending Champions MI have won 6 and lost just two games in the tournament. On the other hand, KKR are in the fourth position with 8 points in 8 games played. KKR have won four and lost four.
Rishabh Tripathi
(170 Articles Published)