Kolkata: Venkatesh Iyer stood out with a 21-ball 42 before a disciplined Mumbai Indians bowling unit restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to 157 for seven in the IPL here on Saturday.
Battling a strained hamstring, Iyer lifted KKR after their worst start of the season with his counter-attacking knock after MI won a good toss following a late start because of rain.
The highlight of the left-hander’s innings was the way he hit Jasprit Bumrah for a six and two fours.
Having missed 11 matches because of a finger injury, Nitish Rana made a 23-ball 33 in a key partnership with Iyer before getting run out.
But Mumbai bounced back well with leg-spinner Piyush Chawla returning 2/38 from his three overs, taking the two key wickets of Iyer and Andre Russell (24 off 14 balls; 2×4, 2×6).
Russell was looking in the mood and his wicket against the run of play denied KKR some extra runs.
Bumrah (2/39 from four overs) ended his splendid spell by dismissing Rinku Singh for a 12-ball 20.
On a tacky wicket that remained under covers for three days owing to persistent rain in the city, KKR had their worst start of the season and lost their openers — Phil Salt (6) and Sunil Narine (0) — in seven balls.
After being hit for a first-ball six, Nuwan Thushara dismissed Salt with a slower one and Bumrah flummoxed Narine with a delivery that angled away but swung in late to rattle his off-stump.
Bumrah looked unplayable and teased the batters by bowling a Test match length, knocking over a clueless Narine off his first ball.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer also looked tentative and was bowled around the leg by Anshul Kamboj for a 10-ball seven.
Iyer had a tough time after being hit on his heel by a throw from square leg.
After some treatment, the left-hander batted with disdain and attacked MI’s best bowler when he hit him for a six and even stepped out for a boundary in a 15-run over.
His innings ensured that KKR kept their run-rate high, and they were 45/3 in the power play, which was reduced to five overs because of rain.
Chawla got him with his first ball, but then, Russell kept the momentum.
He greeted Chawla with a mighty slog over the cow corner and also showed his graceful side with an elegant four.
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