In what turned out to be the best match of the season till date, Mumbai Indians defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by one ball and four wickets. As was the case, KKR handed the match over to MI on a platter for their own mistakes, misfielding and a bit of missed luck. Chris Lynn’s injury surely did not do much to help the nerves for KKR, while the youngsters Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana (Man of the Match) and Krunal Pandya (Hardik’s brother, coincidentally) took the match home for MI.
The match had many high and low points for both MI and KKR fans. While Chris Lynn was not able to pull out a match like the one against Gujrat Lions (which led to a huge win for KKR), both captain Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard got out after short intervals, leading to a point in the 17th over when MI needed more than 50 runs in less than 30 balls. Wankhede last night went ablaze with KKR and MI chants and a special moment was reserved for cricket fans all over the world when Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was shown on the screen.
As a wholesome entertainer, the match also did not cut short on controversy when MI captain Rohit Sharma was declared out by the Umpire even after the replays showed there was a large inside edge. Both the Captain and the MI twitter handle expressed their malice over the decision, however it will not be first such case in the ongoing season.
However as Pollard walked off, all hopes rested with the pair of Hardik Pandya and the already batting Nitish Rana. The duo started with an seemingly impossible target of 49 off 18 balls, and did succeed in achieving it (given the bewildered KKR team who seemed in a hurry to lose), with Rana taking home the Man of the Match trophy. However the match was not that easily ended with Rana getting out and Harbhajan Singh coming in to bat in the 19th over.
What happened next can best be seen in the following tweets:
- 2 overs remaining. With Nitish Rana and Hardik Pandya on the field, the whole stadium is in a trance to complete the match.
2. Nitish Rana gets out on a ball by Rajpoot caught by Narine. Harbhajan Singh comes in to bat in his place.
3. One over to go with Hardik Pandya on strike and Boult from KKR to bowl with MI to score 11 runs.
4. Hardik on strike as KKR misfield two times in the last over. First by Suryakumar Yadav who let the ball through his hands for a boundary on the first ball of the over, while the second blow came when Rishi Dhawan dropped a sitter by Pandya.
And here he is with his award.#MIvKKR #CricketMeriJaan pic.twitter.com/bZDEtnbBya
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 9, 2017
As the match got over, even SRK tweeted to congratulate MI on their well deserved win. What we could give to hear what went on in the KKR dressing room though ?!?!?!
Oh well…there will be another knight. Congratulations Mumbai Indians. KKR boys v ‘slipped’ a bit but well played. Good effort.
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 9, 2017
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