MI beat KKR by 10 runs; Stokes ruled out of IPL

Mumbai Indians (MI) rallied to pull off a 10-run win as profligate Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsmen threw away their wickets to make a mess of a modest 152-run target in an Indian Premier League match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.

After Andre Russell’s five-wicket haul in just two overs (5/15) helped KKR bowl out a power-packed MI for 152 in 20 overs, KKR batsmen lost the plot despite getting off to a flying start.

At one stage, KKR were 104/2 and needed just 49 runs off 43 balls with a victory looking like a formality. A solid half-century by opener Nitish Rana (57 off 47), his second successive fifty in this IPL, had given KKR a perfect start. His 72-run opening stand with Shubman Gill (33) had pushed MI bowlers’ backs to the wall.

However, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar tempted the top four KKR batsmen -- Rana, Gill, Rahul Tripathi and skipper Eoin Morgan -- into committing mistakes as they threw their wickets away in the process. Chahar’s four-wicket haul (4/27) left KKR at 122/4 after 15 overs.

The game was still in KKR’s grasp as they needed 31 off 30 balls. However, Shakib Al Hasan too wasted his wicket, getting caught in the deep off the bowling of Krunal Pandya.

Some tight bowling by MI bowlers then ensured that neither Russell nor Dinesh Karthik could free their arms. KKR needed 15 off the last over which proved to be too much against Kiwi pacer Trent Boult, who took two wickets in his final over.

Earlier, Mumbai too squandered a good start they got through Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma despite the loss of an early wicket and a less productive power-play stage.

Yadav (56 off 36 balls) decided to take on the KKR attack and began playing his shots after the spinners, who bowled five of the six power-play overs, had curtailed MI.

Yadav, who hit three fours in Harbhajan Singh’s second over, smashed two sixes and seven fours as he looked to take MI to a strong total.

However, his dismissal off the bowling of Shakib Al Hasan in the 11th over when MI were cruising at 86/1 triggered a collapse. MI soon lost Ishan Kishan who was dismissed by Pat Cummins in the 12th over, and a few overs later, the defending champions saw the back of skipper Rohit Sharma who struggled to get going against the spinners.

Rohit, who shared a 76-run second-wicket partnership with Yadav, made 43 off 32 balls.

The famed MI middle and lower-order batting, which features plenty of hard-hitters, failed to get going. Soon after Rohit’s dismissal, MI lost the wickets of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard in the space of six balls. South African Marco Jansen’s dismissal then left MI reeling at 126/7 after 18 overs.

Medium-pacer Russell hadn’t bowled till the 17th over. But in his first over, the 18th of the innings, he got rid of Kieron Pollard (5) and Marco Jansen (0) and in the last over of the match, he sent back Krunal Pandya (15), Jasprit Bumrah (0) and Rahul Chahar (8) to return with dream figures of 5/15.

Meanwhile, England’s Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League with a broken finger sustained in Rajasthan Royals’ opening match, the team said Tuesday.

The all-rounder injured his finger while fielding against Punjab Kings in Mumbai on Monday. He eventually opened the innings but was out for a third-ball duck in his team’s failed run chase.

“Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes injured a finger on his left hand while fielding during the team’s match against Punjab Kings on 12 April 2021 in Mumbai,” the Royals said in a statement.

“Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained a broken finger, which will unfortunately rule him out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League 2021 season.”

Stokes injured his finger while taking a catch to dismiss Punjab batsman Chris Gayle and left the field to get treatment. He bowled just one over before the blow to his finger, giving away 12 runs.

Stokes returned to bat and was caught and bowled by pace bowler Mohammed Shami for nought.

“Everyone at Rajasthan Royals absolutely admires Ben for being such a huge asset and a valuable member of the Royals family, both on and off the field, and wishes him a speedy recovery,” the team said.

“We are delighted that Ben would like to stay with the group to provide his valued support and inputs off the field. In the meantime, we will be reviewing potential replacement options for the remainder of the season.”

Rajasthan, led by India’s Sanju Samson, will next play Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on Thursday.

An England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman said: “We are aware (of Stokes’ injury) and he will be assessed over the coming days on the extent of the seriousness of the injury. At that point we will confirm the next steps.”

Agencies