Mumbai:
Call it freak, happenstance. However, Mumbai Indians’ record of losing the tournament opener for 13 editions had become a major irritant. The five-time winners finally got the monkey off their back with an emphatic win against Kolkata Knight Riders, chasing down 221 in 19.1 overs with six wickets in hand on home turf at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
It was a big show of faith from MI to keep Ryan Rickelton in the line-up ahead of the returning legend and fellow South African Quinton de Kock. It showed in Rickelton’s emphatic cuts and pulls, his confidence sky high. He played his part in MI’s counter-attacking in the Powerplay. While KKR were 78/1 after the first six, the hosts went better—80/0. The charge was led by one of the league’s OGs, Rohit Sharma. The trademark pull shot was on show early. Rohit, who looked fitter, was picking his spot with ease against KKR pacers.
With the makings of another big-scoring showdown, KKR knew their duo of mystery spinners had to do the damage. Rohit knew that well. Off the first ball he faced from Varun Chakravarthy, he lifted him over cover. The next ball, he launched him over the same region, this time for six. There’s a theory of treating Chakravarthy like a medium-pacer, especially on batting-friendly decks. Rohit, seeing the ball well, seemed to be doing just that. The KKR trump card forced to come around the wicket, Rohit was able to put him on the defence straightaway.
Chakravarthy blunted, Rickelton took the onus of attacking Sunil Narine, who held a better match-up against Rohit. With little hold off the surface, the South African left-hander brought out the slog-sweep and kept clearing the deep mid-wicket boundary. With both the spin partners under the pump, KKR’s worst fears with their severely depleted bowling attack were coming true. If that wasn’t enough, skipper Rahane, cramping, left for the dugout, leaving Rinku to lead the troops.
While KKR faced a perfect storm, MI openers with their whirlwind stand of 148 (72b) had swung the match in their favour. Rohit’s dismissal on 78 (38b, 6×4,6×6) off Vaibhav Arora, caught brilliantly by Anukul Roy running back from mid-on, would prove too little too late. By the time Rickleton was run-out on 81 (43b, 4×4,8×6) in the 16th over, it was all but over.
Earlier, Shardul Thakur’s slower ball did what Jasprit Bumrah’s couldn’t. Finn Allen’s blistering innings (37 off 17b) was put to an end by Thakur’s second ball on MI debut. Allen’s six fours and two sixes though had shown early evidence of how good the playing surface was. Not just the in-form Allen, Rahane wasn’t sparing any wayward bowling, and there was plenty of it in the first six overs.
India’s World Cup bowling heroes in MI colours weren’t on the money to begin with. The fourth over bowled by Hardik Pandya went for 26. The fifth and Bumrah’s first went for 11.
When nothing seems to work, teams turn to their man with the golden arm. MI certainly had theirs in Thakur. Unpredictability holds premium value in T20 cricket. One of Thakur’s great strengths in limited overs cricket is being able to bowl six different balls in an over. Like in the 14th over when Thakur got his third scalp of the day. Rahane had watched Thakur bowl a slower ball and a yorker from the other end. When it was his turn, his state teammate switched to cross seam. In trying to push the run rate up after a couple of quiet overs, the ball caught the upper edge and Rahane holed out at cover.
Thakur dismissed the dangerous Cameron Green (18 off 10) with another version of his slower ball—
the slow bouncer—to finish with figures of 4-0-39-3.
KKR would have liked to have doubled the score after being 120/2 mid-innings. But they missed the muscular presence of the retired Andre Russell during the death overs. Rinku Singh (33* – 21b) played a useful hand, but KKR would have liked more than the 53 runs they got off the final five, after the foundation they had.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s promising 51 (29b) and Rahane’s impressive 67 (40b) became a footnote in KKR’s lost cause.
