Indian Premier League

IPL: Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders

Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 runs at Buffalo Park, East London.

The Mumbai Indians lost Sanath Jayasuriya early on in the innings after choosing to bat first. Tendulkar made a handy 34 off 30 balls, but having struck Ajit Agarkar for a six and a four, the Mumbai Indians captain then fell to a fine catch in the covers by Kolkata Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum. At 61/3 when the teams left the field for the strategic timeout it seemed as though the Mumbai Indians would struggle to get up to 130. In the 18th over Duminy helped himself to two sixes over midwicket off Laxmi Shukla and tagged on a few extra runs to take 18 off the over. Despite losing Ajinkya Rahane and Graham Napier, Duminy continued to swing for the fences. He hit two more sixes in the final over bowled by Ashok Dinda, taking 16 runs off it in total and in the process notched up his second half-century of the tournament, scoring his 52 runs off 37 balls hitting four sixes and one four.

The Kolkata Knight Riders decided to change their opening combination and shifted Sourav Ganguly up the order to open with Chris Gayle, but the move failed dismally when Ganguly was out first ball. Gayle’s erratic tournament continued when he did the same thing in Zaheer’s next over leaving the Kolkata KnightRiders in a hole at 8/2. However a clinical third wicket partnership between Brad Hodge and Morne van Wyk turned the innings around for the Kolkata Knight Riders with the pair putting on 89 in 12.3 overs.

They received a little help on the way with Hodge being dropped when he had 17 by Abishek Nayar and when Harbhajan Singh dropped the ball in attempting to run out Van Wyk. Van Wyk’s 32 came off 35 balls and included just three fours. With Hodge still there and McCullum coming in at six the Kolkata Knight Riders still had a chance. But Lasith Malinga, the league’s leading wicket taker with 11 and Purple Cap holder, as well as the most economical bowler in Season 2009 Season of the DLF IPL, bowled an excellent penultimate over.

With 23 runs needed to win off 12 balls, Malinga conceded just four runs and the pressure he built up led directly to Hodge’s run out off the last ball of the 19th over, effected by J P Duminy again and some clever work by wicketkeeper Pinal Shah. Hodge made 73 off 60 balls hitting five fours and three sixes.

Tags: IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians