IPL 2018: MI hand KKR 102-run defeat, move to 4th position on points table

Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 102 runs and moved to the fourth spot on the VIVO IPL points table. Ishan Kishan made 102 runs

In the 41st match of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, Mumbai Indians pulled a stellar performance against Kolkata Knight Riders, defeating them by 102 runs at the Eden Gardens. With this victory, Mumbai also climbed to the fourth spot of the VIVO IPL points table. Put to bat first, Mumbai Indians set the target of 211 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders. As the saying goes --fortune favours the brave--when it seemed that Kolkata bowlers would finish off Mumbai's innings even before 20 overs, Ishan Kishan emerged and bravely went for big shots. He ended up hitting 62 runs off just 21 balls including six sixes. Rohit Sharma also contributed significant runs. Earlier, Mumbai openers Suryakumar Yadav and Lewis were exposed to Spin bowling. Piyush Chawla got the breakthrough in his first over and Lewis had to depart on an unusual dismissal. In the aftermath of a wicket, Yadav got on the backfoot but could not recover as Chawla trapped him. 

Ishan Kishan took the initiative by putting life into Mumbai's dull inning and compelled Kolkata to recall spinners. Ishan celebrated the crucial fifty-run stand with Rohit with four consecutive sixes that led to his half-century also. The match had taken a turn and Mumbai were in the driver seat. Narine got the better of Ishan after he had inflicted serious damage. Rohit too put up a decent show and contributed with a significant inning. In Mumbai's reply, Kolkata had the task of saving their prestige at home and keep their claim alive for the IPL title. Sunil Narine succumbed early to a short delivery. Kolkata's start went from bad to worst as Chris Lynn was soon run out. Robin Uthappa too fell even before the team could touch the 50-run mark and the team was on backfoot. Wickets fell at regular intervals and after captain Dinesh Karthik's wicket, Kolkata was on the verge of another defeat. The tail-enders were just delaying the inevitable. Mumbai emerged victorious by handing Kolkata Knight Riders an embarrassing defeat at their home with a stellar performance in all three departments--batting, bowling and fielding.
 

IPL 2018 Match 41 MI vs KKR SCOREBOARD

Copy: Match 40: KXIP vs RR
Infogram

Kolkata Knight Riders innings update: Over by over

Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI for today's match: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Tom Curran, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav. Change: Rinku Singh and Tom Curran come to the side.

Over 1: Mitchell McClenaghan to Sunil Narine, hit for a four over mid-off. Narine tried to hit the second ball pouched by Krunal, first breakthrough to Mumbai Indians. Chris Lynn played a DOT ball followed by a top edge for four. Slower ball pulled for four in the fine leg region. DOT ball to end the over. KKR: 12/1, Sunil Narine c Krunal b McClenaghan 4 (2b 1x4 0x6)

Over 2: Krunal Pandya to Robin Uthappa, two consecutive DOT balls to start followed by a single. DOT ball blocked the 4th ball. A missed field costs Mumbai Indians a run. DOT ball to end the over. KKR: 14/1, Robin Uthappa 1(4b), Chris Lynn 9 (6b)

Over 3: Mitchell McClenaghan to Chris Lynn, DOT ball followed by a miss timed pull shot just fall before keeper, no run. Lynn muscled the 3rd ball for six followed by a controlled pull shot for a four in the deep square leg. DOT ball, straight to backward point. One run taken to end the over. KKR: 25/1, Robin Uthappa 1(4b), Chris Lynn 20 (12b)

Over 4: Krunal Pandya to Chris Lynn, two consecutive dot ball followed by a single. Another dot ball followed by six over mid-on. A mix up resulted in Lynn's wicket. KKR: 32/2, Chris Lynn run out (Yadav/Pandya) 21 (15b 3x4 1x6)

Over 5: Jasprit Bumrah to Nitish Rana, play, and a miss followed by a defensive shot for no run. Another defensive shot for a quick single. Uthappa pulled the 4th ball for six in the square leg region. Bumrah came back with a brilliant delivery beaten Uthappa outside off stump. Nearly chopped on the last ball for no run. KKR: 39/2, Robin Uthappa 13(10b), Nitish Rana 1(3b)

Over 6: Hardik Pandya to Nitish Rana, flicked the first ball for four in the fine leg region. DOT ball, Rana glides the 3rd ball between keeper and gully for four. Hardik bowled two consecutive DOT ball. The last ball also went for no run. KKR: 47/2, Robin Uthappa 13(10b), Nitish Rana 9(9b)

Over 7: Mayank Markande to Uthappa, dot ball to start followed by a single. Rana took single off the 3rd ball. Markande strikes as Uthappa slog sweep went to mid-wicket fielder Suryakumar Yadav. Russell took a single off the first ball. Rana took single to end the over. KKR: 51/3, Robin Uthappa c Yadav b Markande 14 (13b 0x4 2x6)

Over 8: Hardik Pandya to Nitish Rana, no run followed by a cut shot for a single in the point region. Russell took one run off the 3rd ball. Uppish drive brought only one run for Rana. Short ball, didn't bounced much went for no run followed by Russell wicket of the knuckleball, Kolkata Knight Riders 4 down. KKR: 54/4, Andre Russell c Markande b Hardik 2 (4b 0x4 0x6)

Over 9: Mayank Markande to Nitish Rana, one run taken. Dinesh Karthik played a dot ball followed by a single in the long-on region. Rana pulled the short ball for six over midwicket followed by a failed reverse sweep for single. Dinesh Karthik sweep shot brought the second boundary to end the over. KKR: 67/4, Nitish Rana: 21(17b), Dinesh Karthik: 5(3b)

Over 10: Hardik Pandya to Nitish Rana, another mix up brings 2nd run out for KKR followed by Nitish Rana wicket. Rinku Singh took a single followed by 2 consecutive dot balls. Inside edge off Tom Curran's bat went for four to end the over. KKR: 72/6

Over 11: Jasprit Bumrah to Rinku Singh, scooped the ball for 4 over slips. Bumrah gave KKR 7th ball as Rinku edged the 2nd ball to the keeper followed by two consecutive dot balls. Single taken. Dot ball to end the over. KKR: 77/7 Rinku Singh c Ishan Kishan b Bumrah 5 (3b 1x4 0x6) 

Over 12: Cutting to Chawla, two consecutive dot balls followed by a single. Another dot ball. Curran hit the 5th ball for four over the midwicket fielder followed by a DOT ball to end the over. KKR: 82/7

Over 13: Bumrah to Chawla, 2 runs. Bumrah kept the things tight as he gave away only 3 runs in last 5 balls. KKR: 87/7

Over 14: Cutting to Chawla, one run taken. DOT ball followed by a single taken in the deep midwicket region. Cuttings' wayward delivery went for four followed by Chawla's wicket. Run taken off overthrow to end the over. KKR: 94/8

Over 15: McClenaghan to Curran, single taken in the third man region. Kuldeep played 5 consecutive DOT balls to end the over. KKR: 95/8

Over 16: Mayank Markande to Curran, single taken off the first ball. Kuldeep played a dot Ball followed by an outside edge dropped by keeper for 2 runs. Another dot ball followed by a single. Curran hit the last ball for four to end the over. KKR: 103/8

Over 17: Krunal Pandya to Kuldeep Yadav, DOT ball. Single taken. Another single taken by Curran. Kuldeep took single off the 4th ball. Curran got out off the 5th ball. DOT ball to end the over. KKR: 106/9

Over 18: Mayank Markande to Krishna, one run. Another single taken by Kuldeep. Markande bowled 4 consecutive delivery to end the over. KKR: 108/9

Over 19: Krunal Pandya to Kuldeep Yadav, trapped in front of the wicket as KKR lost the match by 102 runs

Kolkata Knight Riders innings analysis after end of innings

Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine opened the batting for KKR. Mitchell McClenaghan started the first over. Narine did what he is expected to do and hit a lofted off-drive for a boundary. But the show didn't last long as he hit the next ball high up in the sky gave away his wicket rather cheaply at short covers. Robin Uthappa was the next man in. Lynn got two consecutive boundaries and that ended a successful over for MI. Krunal Pandya bowled a tight second over giving away just 2 runs. MI looked in control as no easy runs were coming in for KKR. McClenaghan returned with the third over. Chris Lynn wanting to change the narrative smashed him for six and a four. KKR was 25/1 after 3 overs.

Krunal picked up the fourth over from where he had left the second one. Got hit for a six but MI made a comeback thanks to a crucial run-out of Chris Lynn. Nitish Rana joined Uthappa at the crease. Apart from a six in Bumrah's over, MI was scoring at a rate of 7.5 runs per over, much lower than the required run rate of over 11.40. Hardik Pandya came in with the last over of the powerplay and was welcomed with a boundary of the very first ball of the over. Only one more boundary came in this over. KKR stood at a modest 47/2 after 6 overs.

KKR wasn't having the best of their nights as Mayank Markande stricken in his very first over, getting rid of Uthappa. Andre Russell came next. KKR was finding it difficult to mark the rhythm to chase such a huge total, losing wickets at regular intervals. Hardik Pandya came to bowl the eighth over looking to build up the pressure on the batsmen. The strategy paid off and Pandya managed to dismiss the dangerous man Russell who went for a lofted drive but didn't get the required height, hitting straight into the hands of Markande. Karthik was the new man in. The required rate had climbed up to 13.0 runs per over when Markande bowled a comparatively expensive ninth over. KKR was struggling at 67/4 at the end of 9 overs.

Nothing seemed to be going KKR's way. Hardik started the 10th over and KKr lost two consecutive wickets. First, it Duminy who ran Karthik out, and then Nitish Rana fell victim to Pandya, which seemed to be the last nail in the coffin for KKR. Two new batsmen, Rinku Singh and Tom Curran, were on the crease. Hardik ended a wonderfully successful over conceding just 5 runs and taking two wickets. Bumrah started the 11th over and was welcomed with a boundary. Bumarah came back with a bang and dismissed Rinku Singh on the very next ball. Piyush Chawla was the next man in. Cutting came in with the 12th over. scored a decent over giving away just 5 runs. Although he got hit for a four, nothing appeared to excite the Kolkata crowd when defeat looked certain for KKR. KKR was 82/7 after 12 overs.

Only 13 runs came in the 16th,17th and 18th over. The tail-enders were just trying to save an all-out for KKR. Runs were becoming rare and Krunal Pandya did the job for MI when he dismissed Tom Curran in the 17th and Kuldeep Yadav on the very first delivery of the 19th over. KKR's innings was wrapped up for a mere 108 runs handing over a crucial 102-run win to Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians ended the match with 11 balls remaining and added 2 important points on the points table helping them to enter the top four for the first time this season.

Mumbai Indians innings update: Over by over

Mumbai Indians playing XI for today's match: Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy, Ishan Kishan(w), Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah. Change: No change.

Over 1: Andre Russell to Suryakumar Yadav played 3 dot balls before he hit the 4th ball for four in the point region. Another dot ball. Suryakumar took single to end the over. MI: 5/0

Over 2: Prasidh Krishna to Suryakumar, single taken. DOT ball. Lewis took a single in third man region. Prasidh bowled two consecutive dot balls before Suryakumar hit the last ball for six. MI: 13/0

Over 3: Tom Curran to Evin Lewis, dot ball to start with followed by a cover drive for 4. Lewis took a single off the 3rd ball. Suryakumar delicately dabbed the 4th ball for four. Single taken. Lewis took a quick single to end the over. MI: 24/0

Over 4: Sunil Narine to Evin Lewis, one run taken. DOT ball. Another DOT ball. Suryakumar took a single off the 4th ball. DOT ball followed by a powerful cover drive for 4 to end the over. MI: 30/4, Evin Lewis: 12 (9b), Suryakumar Yadav: 18 (15b)

Over 5: Prasidh Krishna to Suryakumar, tried to dab the ball in third man region, straight to flying slip, another attempt off the 2nd ball same result. Successful third time as Suryakumar took a single. Lewis hit the 4th ball for four in the third man region followed by a peach of a delivery, DOT ball. Lewis took a double to end the over thanks to a dropped catch by Kuldeep Yadav. MI: 37/0, Evin Lewis: 18 (12b), Suryakumar Yadav: 19 (18b)

Over 6: Piyush Chawla to Suryakumar, full toss went for four followed second four. Suryakumar took a quick single off the 3rd ball. Short ball on to the pad taken by short third man Evin Lewis OUT. Rohit Sharma took a single off the 5th ball DOT ball to end the over. MI: 47/1, Evin Lewis c Lynn b Chawla 18 (13b 3x4 0x6)

Over 7: Sunil Narine to Rohit Sharma, one run taken. DOT ball followed by one bye. DOT ball. Rohit Sharma took a single off the 4th ball. Suryakumar took a single to end the over. MI: 51/1, Suryakumar Yadav: 29 (25b), Rohit Sharma: 3 (4b)

Over 8: Kuldeep Yadav to Suryakumar, one run. Rohit took a single off the 2nd ball. Suryakumar took a double followed by a four. Two dot ball to end the over. MI: 59/1, Suryakumar Yadav: 36 (30b), Rohit Sharma: 4 (5b)

Over 9: Chawla to Rohit, two consecutive dot balls. Single is taken. one run bye is taken. Rohit took single off the 5th ball. Suryakumar out while trying to hit six. MI: 62/2, Suryakumar Yadav c Singh b Chawla 36 (32b 5x4 1x6)

Over 10: Kuldeep Yadav to Rohit Sharma, no run followed by a double. Rohit deceived a leading edge went for a run. Ishan Kishan has beaten off the 4th ball followed by a six over long-on. A single taken to end the over. MI:  72/2, Ishan Kishan: 7 (3b), Rohit Sharma: 9 (12b)

Over 11: Chawla to Kishan, reverse sweep for four followed by a massive appeal and KKR went for DRS but ball was pitched outside leg stump. Faster delivery for no run. Kishan sweeps the 4th ball for four followed by a double. Kishan hit the last ball for four to end the over. MI: 86/2, Ishan Kishan: 21 (9b), Rohit Sharma: 9 (12b)

Over 12: Andre Russell to Rohit Sharma, wide ball to start. Single is taken off the second ball. WIDE. A missed field by bowler went for single. Nitish Rana dropped Rohit off the third ball in the backward point region, one run taken. Ishan Kishan took a single off the 4th ball, another single taken by Rohit. Kishan hit the last ball for four to end the over. MI: 97/2,  Ishan Kishan: 27 (12b), Rohit Sharma: 12 (15b) 

Over 13: Prasidh Krishna to Rohit, single taken. Ishan cut the second ball for single. Rohit edged the 3rd ball for four followed by a pull shot which went for four in the mid-wicket region. Single taken off the 5th ball. Ishan Kishan hit the last ball for four in the fine-leg region to end the over. MI: 112/2, Ishan Kishan: 32 (14b), Rohit Sharma: 22 (19b)

Over 14: Kuldeep Yadav to Rohit Sharma, DOT ball to start followed by a single off the second ball. Kishan hit the 3rd ball for six over deep square leg region followed by another six of the over mid-wicket. Kishan sent the 5th ball over long-on for third consecutive six to complete his fifty in just 17 balls. Kishan hit fourth six to end the over. MI: 137/2, Ishan Kishan: 56 (18b), Rohit Sharma: 23 (21b)

Over 15: Sunil Narine to Rohit Sharma, one run taken. Ishan missed a big heave, connected the next ball for six over mid-wicket. While trying to hit 7th six of his innings Ishaan Kishan got out as Uthappa took the catch at the deep square region. Hardik Pandya played the first ball for a dot followed by a single to end the over. MI: 145/3, Ishan Kishan c Uthappa b Narine 62 (21b 5x4 6x6) 

Over 16: Tom Curran to Hardik, 2 runs taken off the 1st ball. A single saved at the backward region. Yorker went for no run. hardik took a risky single off the 4th ball as Chawla failed to hit the wicket. NO BALL and one run taken. The FREE hit went for one run. Another single taken by Rohit to end the over: MI: 152/3, Rohit Sharma: 26 (24b), Hardik Pandya: 5(7b)

Over 17: Sunil Narine to Rohit Sharma, single taken. Hardik took a single off the 2nd ball. DOT ball. Rohit took a double followed by a six over deep mid-wicket. DOT ball to end the over. MI: 162/3, Rohit Sharma: 35 (29b), Hardik Pandya: 6(8b)

Over 18: Tom Curran to Hardik Pandya, walloped the first ball for six followed by a dot ball. WIDE ball. One run has taken off the 3rd ball. Full toss went for a single. Another full toss outside off sliced by Hardik for six. Lastly, third full toss produced 4th wicket for KKR. MI: 177/4, Hardik Pandya c Rinku Singh b Curran 19 (13b 0x4 2x6)

Over 19: Prasidh Krishna to Cutting, 1 run taken. Rohit failed to make a mark at death overs as he got out off the 2nd ball. Cutting muscled the 3rd ball for six over the cow corner region. WIDE ball. Swing and a miss by Cutting. One run was taken off the 5th ball. Krunal took a double to end the over. MI: 188/5

Over 20: Chawla to Cutting, deposited into the stand. The second ball also vanished for six over square leg followed by a four in cow corner region. Another attempt for big shot beaten, DOT ball. Russell took a brilliant catch to end Cutting blitzkrieg. Krunal Pandya hit the last ball six to set the mammoth target. MI 210/6, Ben Cutting c Russell b Chawla 24 (9b 1x4 3x6) 

Mumbai Indians innings analysis after 20 overs

KKR won the toss and invited Rohit Sharma's MI to bat first. Former KKR man Suryakumar Yadav opened the batting for MI along with Evin Lewis. Andre Russell started with the bowling attack. The ball showed a bit of a swing in the air, while Russell was bowling wider down the off-side. Assessing the situation for a while, Yadav smashed the ball for a square cut boundary. Russell learnt the lesson and improved his line for the rest of the over. Prasidh Krishna came with the second over bowling to a decent line and length. But, he missed his mark on the last ball and Yadav punished him with a flat six towards the deep third man. Tom Curran also started with outside-off deliveries and Lewis wacked him for a boundary towards covers. MI stood at 24/0 after 3 overs.

Always the go-to man whenever there's need for a breakthrough, Sunil Narine came to bowl the fourth over. Bowled perfectly well throughout the over trying multiple variations, apart from last delivery which added another four runs in MI's kitty. The youngster Prasidh returned with the fifth over, showing inconsistency with his line. But MI batsmen were unable to go after him, bagging only 7 runs. Up for a decent start with 37 for none, MI batsmen decided to up the ante in the sixth over. Yadav smashed two consecutive boundaries but MI lost Lewis through an unlucky dismissal, who got caught at short third man. MI were 47/1 after the powerplay. 

Looking for another breakthrough, Karthik brought back Narine in the seventh over. Batsmen struggled to score runs and Narine leaked just 4 runs in his over. Karthik continued with the spin bowlers in the 8th and 9th over as well. Kuldeep and Chawla managed to tighten the grip over MI batsmen and they looked restless to hit some big shots. The pressure was mounting and Suryakumar Yadav fell prey to it losing his wicket while trying a pull shot. MI was struggling at 62/2 after 9 overs.

10th over started with two new batsmen at the crease, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma. Kuldeep Yadav continued with his second over. Sharma was finding it difficult to connect the ball, which has been the story so far for Sharma this season. Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, looked to go for the big shots. He stepped out on the second ball of his inning and hit Yadav for a massive six down the ground. Chawla returned in the 11th over and Kishan continued with his attempt at big shots, and probably this is the reason why Karthik and Chwala went in for a foolish LBW review. The ball was missing the off-stump. Kishan charged a penalty for KKR's failed attempt and hit Chawla for a boundary towards the on-side. Karthik tried a bowling change from the other end and brought in Russell. Russell inconsistent deliveries, but Rohit was having his own struggle with form. A missed chance, a couple of wide deliveries, and the last ball boundary summarizes Russell's over. MI was 97/2 after 12 overs.

A partnership was building up where Kishan held the larger chunk of runs. Prasidh came in with the 13th over. Marching on a lucky outside edge boundary towards third man, Rohit hit a classic pull shot adding four more runs. Ishan ended the over with a cracking boundary penetrating the on-side. Ishan Kishan was in an outstanding touch and he smashed four consecutive sixes which brought his fifty in just 17 balls. Kuldeep Yadav failed to stop the run flow and ended a rather expensive over giving away 25 runs. Narine was brought back in a bid to put some breaks on the scoring rate. MI was cruising and Ishan after facing a dot delivered yet another six. But, lack of experience soon showed up and Ishan was caught just inches inside the boundary while going for another six. Hardik Pandya was the new man in. KKR got the necessary breakthrough. MI was 145/3 after 15 overs.

KKR had the opportunity to make a comeback. Both Rohit and Hardik haven't been in the best of forms throughout this VIVO IPL 2018. Tom Curran did just that for KKR giving away just 7 runs. Narine returned to bowl his last over. The scoring rate had come to a halt since Ishan's wicket and Sharma and Hardik had the responsibility to amend that. Sharma went in for a maximum off Narine which just managed to clear the fence. Curran came in to bowl the 18th over and Hardik welcomed him with a flat six over deep mid-wicket. Curran made a comeback bowling three good deliveries only to gift Hardik a poor full toss outside-off which was punished appropriately with a flat six over deep third man. But the celebrations didn't last long as Hardik's wicket fell off another full toss which he hit high up in the sky paving way for an easy catch for Rinku Singh. Ben Cutting came in next to bat. 

Prasidh returned with his last over and took the crucial wicket of Sharma who would've loved to end the MI's innings on a high. Krunal Pandya was the next man in. Ben Cutting took the role of the finisher after Rohit's departure hitting a maximum off Prasidh. He continued with the assault in the 20th over and hit two consecutive sixes and a boundary bringing in the 200 runs. Chawla hit back with a dot into Cuttings body and on very next ball he got the breakthrough courtesy of a wonderful catch by Russell just inside the boundary. However, Krunal Pandya ended Mumbai's inning with a six at long-on. Mumbai Indians posted a total of 210/6 in their allowed quota of 20 overs. KKR needed to score at a required run rate of more than 10.50 to win the match.

Here are a few things to know about the Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders (MI vs KKR) match to be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:
 
What Duminy said about Hardik Pandya's all-round skill:  Heaping praise on India and Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy on Tuesday termed the Baroda all-rounder as "pressure-moment" player during the business end of the IPL 2018. "Those are type of players that we need especially at this time of the tournament where you kind of refer to them as pressure players or pressure moments (player) and you like those pressure moment players to step up and execute their skills to the best of their abibilty," South African Duminy told reporters on the eve of the game. "He has been exceptional to watch. I have played against him a few times and now I have the opportunity to play with him. He is an exceptional talent and one of those characters that back himself in pressure moments," the 34-year-old added.
 
What Rohit Sharma said about the Mumbai playing 11: With two back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, batsman Rohit Sharma says he is looking at a good campaign in the Twenty20 cricket championship this time too, especially with the "mixed bag" of veterans and young blood. "... We have a mixed bag of both T20 veterans and young-blood talent in the team. With this combination of experience and energy, I am confident that we are looking at a good series," Rohit told IANS when asked about his take on Australian paceman Pat Cummins's back injury and how he sees the chances of his team in IPL with a weakened bowling attack.
 
Have stopped practicing batting, says Hardik Pandya: Soon after his Man-of-the-Match effort in Mumbai Indians' crucial win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League today, all-rounder Hardik Pandya said he has stopped practising batting. Pandya notched up a 20-ball 35 not out in MI's match-winning total of 181 at the Wankhede Stadium before capturing 2 for 19 to snatch the purple cap by becoming the leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps to his credit. "I am not doing anything (different). It is just that someday it comes off. I have stopped practising (batting). I am someone who thinks differently. I am actually just being positive. It's all about one hit, to be honest. You score one six and all of a sudden the momentum shifts and everything changes," Pandya said when asked about his batting.
 
KKR have a strong core for next 5-7 years, says Uthappa: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Vice Captain Robin Uthappa feels that the team now has a strong core group of players who can deliver for the next 5-7 years. "I think we have got a side that can hold strong core for the next 5-7 years easily," Uthappa told KKR's official website on the eve of their Indian Premier League (IPL) away tie against Mumbai Indians. "So for me, I think that is commendable to have that kind of side. It's commendable to have decision maker to have such setup," he added talking about KKR having a young set of players this time and miminal squad.
 
Narine has done better in bowling than batting in IPL 2018, says Uthappa: Kolkata Knight Riders vice-captain Robin Uthappa has praised the all-round skills of his team-mate Sunil Narine but said that the West Indian has been doing better in the bowling department in IPL 2018. Sunil (Narine) is someone who is always enjoyed batting, someone who's always been a batsman who can bowl than a bowler. But what he bowled and what he does with his bowling skill is that his batting got overshadowed," Uthappa said. Narine has picked up 10 wickets from nine games and also has contributed with the bat amassing 193 runs with highest score of 50. "So he (Narine) could always bat, open the innings. We saw that he can utilise the powerplay so well with the way he bats. And having someone like me at number three also makes it easier for the team and the management also to make that decision that if a wicket falls quickly, then you have another opening batsman going in," said Uthappa.
 
The team head to head after today's match Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders (MI vs KKR)
 
Overall:
Matches – 23, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 5, Mumbai Indians won – 18
 
At the Eden Gardens:
Matches – 9, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 2, Mumbai Indians won – 7

with agencies input