IPL 2021 live: Chahar, Boult script Mumbai win

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Rahul Chahar of Mumbai Indians celebrates the wicket of Nitish Rana of Kolkata Knight Riders. Chahar took four wickets to help Mumbai win. (BCCI)
Rahul Chahar of Mumbai Indians celebrates the wicket of Nitish Rana of Kolkata Knight Riders. Chahar took four wickets to help Mumbai win. (BCCI)

Dubai - Hello and welcome to the Khaleej Times live IPL blog.

By Rituraj Borkakoty

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Published: Tue 13 Apr 2021, 9:44 PM

Last updated: Tue 13 Apr 2021, 9:58 PM

The Mumbai Indians fought back from a seemingly hopeless position to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs in a low-scoring game at the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.

Chasing 153, KKR were got off to a fine start with openers Nitish Rana (57, 47 balls) and Shubman Gill (33, 24 balls) sharing a 72-run opening partnership in 8.5 overs.


But the brilliant Rahul Chahar (4/27) inspired the Mumbai Indians fightback and some tight bowling by Trent Boult (2/27), Krunal Pandya (1/13) and Jasprit Bumrah (0/28) then earned the defending champions a memorable win.

How Mumbai won


Boult bowls the final over with KKR needing 15 from six balls. Just two runs from the first two balls. Boult gets Russell in the third ball, caught and bowled. Mumbai sensing victory now. Boult strikes again, clean bowls the new man Cummins for a duck. Boult delivers for Mumbai. The champions have won this low-scoring thriller by 10 wickets.

Score KKR 142/7 after 20 overs Target 153

Bumrah bowls the 19th over. Two singles from the first two balls. KKR seem to be losing the plot here. Karthik gets the third single. Three balls left in the over. Russell on strike now. 16 off 9 balls. Another single. Karthik misses the fourth ball. Brilliant from Bumrah. Another dot. Just four runs from the over.

Score KKR 138/5 after 19 overs (Karthik 7, Russell 8). Target 153

Krunal continues. Will Karthik and Russell go for the big shots? Russell does in the third ball, mistimes it, but Bumrah fails to grab the chance. Russell survives. Karthik takes a single in the next ball. Russell misses the fifth ball. Two dot balls to finish the over and his spell. Brilliant from Krunal. Just three runs from it.

Score KKR 134/5 after 18 overs (Karthik 5, Russell 6). Target 153

Bumrah is back to bowl his third over of the innings. The Indian star keeps it tight. The pressure is on KKR now. But Bumrah bowls a no ball in the fourth ball. Russell gets a four from the free hit. Seven runs from the over.

Score KKR 131/5 after 17 overs (Karthik 3, Russell 5). Target 153

Krunal is back into the attack and strikes. This is interesting now. KKR lose five wickets. Krunal dismisses Shakib after the all-rounder mistimes a big shot. Andre Russell joins Dinesh Karthik in the middle. And the West Indian survives with Krunal missing a caught and bowled chance. But Krunal has given just one run in this over, taking the wicket of Shakib.

Score KKR 123/5 after 16 overs (Karthik 1, Russell 0). Target 153

The brilliant Chahar bowls his fourth and the final over. He has three wickets from his first three overs, the only MI bowler to have taken a wicket in this innings. Beats Shakib in the fourth ball with drift, turn and bounce, but these are four byes. Unfortunate for the bowler. But Chahar strikes again. This time gets the big wicket of Rana (57, 47 balls) in the last ball of his spell. Keeps it short after seeing Rana dance down the wicket and a simple stumping for De Kock. What a performance from the leg-spinner. Brilliant

Score KKR 122/4 after 15 overs (Shakib 9, Karthik 0). Target 153

Captain Rohit brings himself into the attack and has an injury scare immediately. But he is back on his feet and Shakib survives the first ball, with the under edge racing away to the boundary. Nine runs from the over.

Score KKR 113/3 after 14 overs (Rana 54, Shakib 7). Target 153

Chahar bowls his third over on the trot and Rana completes his second straight half century in the tournament. This is brilliant from the left-handed opener. But Rana’s captain Morgan departs in the fifth ball, after being deceived in the air. The captain is caught in the deep while going for the big shot. Chahar gets his third wicket. He is single-handedly keeping MI in this contest. Shakib joins Rana.

Score KKR 104/3 after 13 overs (Rana 52, Shakib 0). Target 153

Bumrah comes back to bowl his second over of the innings. Keeps it tight. But Morgan plays his bouncer in the fourth ball to the third man boundary, using the pace. Clever shot. 12 runs from the over.

Score KKR 97/2 after 12 overs (Rana 45, Morgan 7). Target 153

Chahar continues his spell. And he does it again, with a beauty of a delivery. The leg-spinner has Tripathi caught behind. Captain Eoin Morgan joins Rana in the middle. Chahar has Morgan in all sorts of trouble. Morgan survives. Just four from the over and a wicket.

Score KKR 85/2 after 11 overs (Rana 44, Morgan 1). Target 153

Boult is back into the attack. And he has a new man to target, Tripathi. But it’s Rana who treats Boult with disdain, pulling him emphatically for a four. Rana has been brilliant again after his match-winning half century in the first match. Eight runs from the over.

Score KKR 81/1 after 10 overs (Rana 43, Tripathi 3). Target 153

Rahul Chahar joins the attack and Gill pulls him for a boundary in the first ball. Then hits him for a big six over the long on boundary in the fourth ball. But Gill (33, 24 balls) falls after mistiming a lofted shot in the next ball to be caught by Pollard in the deep. Chahar gets the breakthrough. Rahul Tripathi joins Rana in the middle.

Score KKR 73/1 after 9 overs (Rana 37, Tripathi 1) Target 153

Rohit turns to the slow medium of Kieron Pollard for a breakthrough in the first over after the drinks break. But Rana pulls him for a six in the third ball. Then hits him through the off side for a four in the next ball. 12 runs from the over.

Score KKR 62/0 after eight overs (Rana 37, Gill 23) Target 153

Krunal continues and bowls the first over after the poweplay. And bowls a good over. Gives away only five runs.

Score KKR 50/0 after seven overs (Rana 26, Gill 22). Target 153

Jansen is back into the attack and Gill welcomes him back with three delightful shots for fours. 13 runs from the over.

Score KKR 45/0 after six overs (Rana 23, Gill 20). Target 153

Captain Rohit Sharma introduces spin in the fifth over and it’s Krunal Pandya that gets the ball. First ball is a wide. Second one too. Gets better in the next balls and denies the batsmen the chance to free their arm.

Good start

Score KKR 32/0 after five overs (Rana 22, Gill 8). Target 153

Jasprit Bumrah gets his first over. Keeps it nice and tight. But still gave away two boundaries, with Gill playing a sublime straight drive in the final ball.

Score KKR 28/0 after 4 overs (Rana 21, Gill 7). Target 153

Boult bowls his second over and Rana takes the Kiwi on, hitting him for a six and a four. Rana is looking to take the attack to the bowler. Good over for KKR.

Score KKR 19/0 after 3 overs (Rana 16, Gill 3). Target 153

Marco Jansen, the South African bowling all-rounder, bowls the second over. It’s a good start from the bowler. Just four runs from it.

Score KKR 8/0 after 2 overs (Rana 4, Gill 4). Target 153

Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill come out to open for KKR and Rana welcomes Trent Boult with a beautiful off drive for four in the first ball. Hint of swing in the third ball, and misses the edge of Rana’s bat in the third ball. Three more dot balls. Good comeback from the bowler.

Score KKR 4/0 after 1 over (Rana 4, Gill 0). Target 153

Russell bowls the final over and is hit for two fours by Krunal in the first two balls. But he gets Krunal (15) in the next ball with a slow bouncer. Jasprit Bumrah is the next man to fall. Two fours and two wickets in the four balls. Trent Boult survives the hat trick ball. But Russell takes is fifth wicket, third in the final over, in the final ball of the innings as Boult is the last man to fall.

Score 152 all out after 20 overs (Suryakumar 56, Rohit 43, Russell 4/15, Cummins 2/24, Shakib 1/23, Varun Chakravarthy 1/27, Krishna 1/42)

Krishna bowls his fourth over. Better over for the Mumbai Indians. Two boundaries. 12 runs from the over.

Score MI 142/7 after 19 overs (Krunal 7, Chahar 6)

Andre Russell joins the party for KKR. Bowls his first over and gets Pollard (5) in his second ball. The West Indies limited overs captain is caught behind. Then in the fourth ball, Russell gets new man Marco Jansen (0) who fails to clear the boundary. Just five runs from the over and two wickets.

Score MI 130/7 after 18 overs (Krunal 2, Chahar 3)

Krishna is back for the 17th over of the innings and strikes in the second ball. Gets Hardik (15, 17 balls) who mistimes a big shot and is caught by Andre Russell. This has been a tough going for Mumbai. Krunal Pandya replaces his brother Hardik in the middle. Good over from the young bowler.

Score MI 125/5 after 17 overs (Pollard 5, Krunal 1)

Cummins comes back and strikes. The Australian gets Rohit as the MI captain plays on (43, 32 balls). That’s a big wicket as Rohit could have been dangerous in the final overs. Kieron Pollard joins Hardik in the middle. But Cummins is bowling really well. Pollard finds the fine leg boundary with an inside edge, but it’s a moral victory for the bowler.

Score MI 119/4 after 16 overs (Hardik 11, Pollard 4).

KKR tighten the screw

Chakravarthy bowls his fourth over and keeps it tight. But in the fifth ball, Rohit shows his delicate touch with a late cut for a boundary. Eight runs from the over. Impressive spell overall from Chakravarthy.

Score MI after 15 overs 114/3 (Rohit 43, Hardk 10)

Krishna bowls the 14th over. And Hardik breaks shackles with a boundary in the third ball before Rohit pulled Krishna for a six two ball later. Better over for the Mumbai Indians.

Score MI 106/3 after 14 overs (Rohit 36, Hardik 9)

Chakravarthy is back into the attack. The Tamil Nadu spinner is bowling a tight line and Rohit is not looking at his fluent best. Three runs from the over. This is brilliant from Chakravarthy.

Score 94/3 after 13 overs (Rohit 29, Hardik 4)

Cummins bowls the 11th over and gets his first wicket with his first ball of the over, teasing Kishan with a bouncer and the batsman falls for the trap, giving a catch to the man in the fine leg. Mumbai lose their third wicket. Hardik Pandya joins captain Rohit in the middle. Just three runs from the over and a wicket.

Score 91/3 after 12 overs (Rohit 28, Hardik 2)

Shakib gets Suryakumar

Shakib bowls his fourth and final over and strikes for KKR. Dismisses the dangerous Suryakumar for 56 (36 balls) in the third ball as the batsman uses his feet and hits him only to be caught at long on. Ishan Kishan joins Rohit in the middle.

Score MI 88/2 after 11 overs (Rohit 27, Kishan 1)

Cummins is back into the attack and beat Suryakumar with his second ball, the ball missing the outside edge before hitting him in the pad in the next ball as the batsmen take a quick single. Then in the fifth ball, Suryakumar goes across and lifts Cummins over the square leg boundary for a huge six to bring up a wonderful half century.

Score MI 81/1 after 10 overs (Yadav 52, Rohit 25)

Shakib continues and bowls the ninth over after the drinks break. The Bangladesh star keeps it tight, not allowing the batsmen to free their arm.

Score MI 70/1 after 9 overs (Yadav 43, Rohit 23)

Prasidh Krishna, the impressive young pace bowler, has been brought in the eighth over of the innings and Suryakumar flicked him for a six in the third ball before punching him through the covers for a boundary. The next ball was edged to the third man boundary. 16 runs from the over. Biggest over for MI so far in this innings.

Score MI 64/1 after 8 overs (Yadav 40, Rohit 20)

Shakib bowls the seventh over and both Rohit and Suryakumar are happy to work the ball around, rotating the strike without looking to take any risk.

Score MI 48/1 (Rohit 19, Yadav 25)

Pace was introduced finally by Eoin Morgan, in the final over of the power-play. Pat Cummins, the Australian fast-bowling spearhead, kept it nice and tight in the first three balls, but a little bit of width in the fourth ball, allowed Suryakumar Yadav to play the square cut for a boundary. Score MI 42/1 after 6 overs (Rohit 16, Yadav 22)

Smart move

In a smart move by the captain Eoin Morgan, Kolkata Knight Riders started with their two spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Varun Chakravarthy, against the Mumbai Indians.

The move paid off, with Harbhajan bowling a tight first over, giving away only three runs.

Then in the next over, Chakravarthy deceived Quinton de Kock in the air and the South African opener ended up giving a catch to Rahul Tripathi.

Rohit Sharma has looked comfortable so far against the two spinners and Suryakumar Yadav, using his feet beautifully, has hit three gorgeous fours.

Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan replaced Chakravarthy in the fourth over, giving away only five runs.

Change of ends for Chakravarthy as he comes back to bowl the fifth over and Rohit sweeps him in the final ball for his second boundary.

Score: MI 37/1 after 5 overs

KKR win toss

The Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and asked Mumbai Indians to bat first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash on Tuesday.

Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt) 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Rahul Chahar, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Nitish Rana, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Andre Russell, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy

In the match today (6pm UAE Time), we have the five-time champions Mumbai Indians against the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders.

MI look to bounce back

Mumbai failed to find their top gear in their opening match against the RCB which they lost by two wickets.

They will be very determined tonight because any slip up against a competitive team like KKR means they will lose the first two matches of the new season.

That’s something they would like to avoid this season because, don’t forget, this brilliant Mumbai team is aiming to become the first team to win three IPL titles in a row.

Mumbai will be hoping that their formidable middle-order of Pollard, the Pandya brothers would click tonight.

Their bowlers still did a very good job against RCB as they were defending a relatively small total.

But it’s their star-studded batsmen that need to come to the party.

As for Kolkata, they know there is a difference between winning against Hyderabad and winning against Mumbai.

Hyderabad are still trying to find their best combinations in their team and yet they managed to put up a tough fight against Kolkata.

If Mumbai find their game tonight, there might not be many opportunities for Kolkata.

Once again, this match will be played in Chennai where traditionally the spinners have a role to play.

You have Rahul Chahar and Krunal on one side, and Harbhajan, Shakib Al Hasan and Varun Chakravarthy on the other side.

It might be a case of which set of spinners bowl better or which set of batsmen play the spinners better on the night.

Likely teams

Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt) 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Rahul Chahar/Jayant Yadav, 9 Marco Jansen, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Nitish Rana, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Andre Russell, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.

Photo: Twitter
Photo: Twitter

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