Mumbai: All-rounder Hardik Pandya (29 n o, 11b, 3×4, 2×6) played a blinder to help Mumbai Indians (MI) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by four wickets in a dramatic last-over thriller at the Wankhede Stadium here Sunday.
Needing 60 runs off the last 24 balls, Nitish Rana (50, 29b, 5×4, 3×6) came up with fighting half century before Pandya finished the job, with KKR making some mistakes with miss fielding and drop catches.
Chasing 179 runs, Mumbai made a promising start through openers Parthiv Patel (30, 27b, 3×4, 1×6) and Jos Buttler (28, 22b, 1×4, 2×6), who shared a 65 run stand to set the tone for the chase. The match also saw some controversial moments when Buttler and skipper Rohit Sharma were wrongly given out in successive overs.
Ankit Rajput (3/37) was the pick of the bowlers while West Indian Sunil Narine (1/22) was the most economical for the visitors.
It was the first win of the season for Mumbai while Kolkata suffered a painful loss after their 10-wicket triumph over Gujarat Lions.
Earlier, KKR overcame mid-innings hiccups to post a challenging 178 for seven, thanks to Manish Pandey’s (81 n o, 47b, 5×4, 5×6) blitzkrieg. The only blemish in his innings was an edge which Parthiv Patel failed to latch on.
It was the final over of their innings where KKR produced 23 runs off Mitchell McClenaghan. For Mumbai, Krunal Pandya (3/24) was the most successful bowler.
Agencies
