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Pat Cummins cracked an astonishing 15-ball 56 © BCCI
One of IPL's finest!
Not sure I have the words to describe what I have just seen. I need one dictionary for sure. Bamboozled and befuddled. Pat Cummins has put on a crackerjacker of an exhibition of power-hitting to power KKR home. 56 off just 15 balls, which included 35 in a single over off poor Daniel Sams.
He smashed four fours and six sixes in what would surely go down as one of the finest game-breaking innings in the annals of IPL. KKR have won with four overs to spare!!
IPL is that kind of a tournament which takes you to a fantasy land where you end up seeing some astonishing feats.
Also a few words of praise for V Iyer who finished with a 41-ball, unbeaten 50.
Roller-coaster of a game
KKR's roller-coaster ride continues. Rana fell to M Ashwin. But then Russell went on a six-hitting spree. He smacked M Ashwin for a six and then landed two boundaries against Bumrah. Even though one of them was a top edge. Lots of top edges today.
But Mills followed it up with a good short ball, and due to his angle, Russell had to fetch it. He was caught at backward point. Just when everyone thought MI were ahead in the game, Cummins landed a couple of big hits into the stands!!
Another one goes down
One more bites the dust. Billings, who was looking in good touch, lofted one off M Ashwin straight to Thampi at long-off. KKR keep losing wickets at crucial stages.
Sams joins Mills in wickets column
Now Daniel Sams has picked up his second wicket in the IPL. He banged one short and also got the angle right. S Iyer could only eke out a top-edge to Tilak in the deep. Quite a few top-edges today which indicate there is some bounce in the wicket.
Yes, there is some extra bounce.
Mills makes initial incision
Oh, MI needed a wicket to lift themselves and Tymal Mills has provided them with one. Rahane tried to a flat-bat a pull but could only find Daniel Sams in the deep.
Quiet start for KKR in chase
Venkatesh Iyer scores the first boundary in KKR's innings, playing a scoop shot off Basil Thampi. This is after two quiet overs, and the third over too, despite the four, yields only five runs. KKR are 14/0 after 3 overs.
KKR require 162
In the last 5 overs, MI went on rampage and collected as many as 76 runs!!! In the last over, Pollard smacked Cummins for 3 sixes which included a couple of top-edges.
However, MI were able to reach 161 mainly on the back of the quick-fire alliance between Tilak and Surya. The are still perhaps 15-20 short of a good total.
Surya, Tilak press the accelerator
Just the kind of stand MI needed. Tilak and Surya have strung together an alliance of 60 in just 36 balls. Tilak cracked shots square of the wicket on either side while facing Varun, with Surya paddling one through fine leg. But the shot of the game came from Surya's willow when he upper-cut Umesh over the third man fence. Blending immense skill with swagger.
More trouble
More trouble for MI. The pressure was building on Kishan. The southpaw looked to pull Cummins more on the front foot but the tall pacer pounded it hard into the pitch and hit high up on the willow. All that the batter could do was spoon a catch to short midwicket.
It could have been worse for MI but Billings and Rahane had miscommunication while trying to grab a catch and it was put down. Tilak was lucky batter on that occasion.
Chakravarthy snuffs out Brevis
Eventually, Chakravarthy prised out Brevis. But not before he smacked the first ball he faced from the spinner into the stands. However, in an attempt to slog-sweep the bowler, he stretched forward with his back foot coming out of the crease. Billings showing sharp reflexes behind the stumps. End of a promising hand.
'Baby AB'... er Brevis on the charge
Brevis is trying to make a statement of sorts here. The second ball he faced he lofted Umesh over mid-on. He also skipped down the deck and cracked Umesh through mid-on.
His stroke-play has injected a bit of momentum into MI's innings.
Umesh impresses again
A solid short ball from Umesh has given KKR the initial breakthrough. Rohit tried to take on a short ball that was pounded into the deck quite hard and also hit Rohit high up on the bat. He could only eke out a top-edge with Billings running backwards and pouching it safely.
Umesh continues to impress in the PP.
Toss and teams:
KKR have won the crucial toss and opted to bowl. Cummins and R Salam come in for KKR. On the other hand, Suryakumar and the young Brevis have replaced Anmolpreet and David for MI. So they have kept faith in the big-hitting all-rounder, Sams.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Sam Billings(w), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Umesh Yadav, Rasikh Salam, Varun Chakaravarthy
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi
Rohit Sharma: We were looking to bat first. We are not looking at what happened in the last 2 games, we have to play good cricket to win games and that is what we are prepared for. Looks like a good pitch. We have done well in patches and when you want to win games you gotta perform collectively and I think that is something that was missing in the last 2 games. Couple of changes. Surykumar Yadav comes in place of Anmolpreet Singh and we got Dewald Brevis who comes in for Tim David.
Shreyas Iyer: We are gonna bowl first. We are comfortable chasing with a set target in mind. All the teams are equally good and we always have to take that winning mindset and try and back your abilities. We got two changes. Pat Cummins comes in place of Southee and Rasikh Salam comes in for Shivam Mavi. Southee was very supportive and we had a good conversation about the team changes.
Pitch report: It's a fresh pitch. The pace and bounce on this venue is lot quicker compared to the other venues. There is a tinge of green, live grass and it sounds very firm. It's not going to be too different from the last game. This is the only venue where both games have been won by team batting first," reckons Deep DasGupta.
Prelude:
Mumbai Indians have lost a bit of sting in their bowling? In the two games so far, they have largely struggled with the ball in hand. Bumrah and to an extent Mills pulled things back in the late overs versus RR but it wasn't enough. Daniel Sams has been largely ineffective so far.
On a positive note, Suryakumar is slowly regaining fitness and could play today. Meanwhile, KKR are sitting pretty on the points table with two wins out of three. Pat Cummins has completed the mandatory quarantine and is available for selection.
The humidity levels in Pune today are on the lower side - 41 per cent. Now that could be an encouraging sign for the side that loses the toss.