Narine mystery too much for Mumbai
Kolkata Knight Riders are as good as through to the playoffs after Sunil Narine inspired them to a win over Mumbai Indians
Kolkata Knight Riders are as good as through to the playoffs after Sunil Narine inspired them to a win over Mumbai Indians
Scorer: Binoy George | Commentator: George Binoy
11.35 pm Knight Riders had a dreadful start to the match - McCullum got the worst lbw decision I have seen and Kallis was bowled first ball. They managed to huff and puff to 140, and very few thought that would be enough. Knight Riders, however, had packed their side with spinners, as opposed to Mumbai's pace strategy, and it worked a treat for them. A 32-run victory. It's a whopper. Knight Riders have moved to on to 19 points and a net run-rate of +.478. That will be enough to guarantee them a place in the top four even if they lose their final game.
I cannot stress enough how bamboozling Narine was. He had Tendulkar in knots. No one seems to be able to pick him from the hand, and his pace doesn't allow the batsman much time to read him off the pitch.
Mumbai Indians will wonder where it all went wrong. Their openers were slow and steady, and then the innings just never took off. Once Tendulkar was foxed by Narine, it was all downhill for the hosts.
cricketsimpleton: "T&T is like a match-winner production factory i guess. Pollard for MI , Bravo for CSK, Kevon cooper for RR, Narine for KKR. isnt this the real avengers team!"
Ricky: "Daft cricket by MI, when they knew Sunil Narine is going to be difficult to pick/hit why didn't they attack the other bowlers. Balaji went for 11 runs in his 4 overs!! Don't mind them losing but no semblance of a fight disappoints me."
Mazhar: "Every bowler got a wicket today except for poor bhajji..."
Suva: "Narine is extraordinary again, but letÂŽs not forget BalajiÂŽs spell as well as KalisÂŽs last over back to back wickets, which I think is the turning point."
The presentation is beginning ...
Gambhir: "I don't think we had enough, but after losing two wickets early then 140 was a good total ... If we win the next one we'll be in the top two. If we had lost this we would have been under pressure. Today's win will give us confidence."
Harbhajan: "I don't think there was much fault in the wicket, I think we need to sort out our technique ... and how to bat in the first six overs." Harbhajan was quite vocal in his assessment of how Mumbai batted in the first six overs being crucial to their loss. "We haven't been playing grate cricket, good and bad in patches ... boys need to pick up their game ...me as well."
The Man of the Match is Sunail Narine. "I'm having a dream at this moment, hard work is paying off. Hopefully it will continue. I wasn't too worried about the wickets, knew they would help me, but not as much as this ..."
Thank you for all your emails today. I've had a lot of fun bringing you the commentary. Do join us tomorrow as well. Cheers.
RP Singh c Iqbal Abdulla b Narine 3 (7m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 60
Narine to finish what has been an awesome bowling performance.
SL Malinga c Tiwary b Balaji 8 (10m 6b 0x4 1x6) SR: 133.33
Adityan: "Hardly anyone noticed that Sunil Narine would be stealing the purple cap from Malinga if he gets one more wicket."
Vikas: "But for the 6 Narine's figures would have been 3-0-8-4....Zipcodisque !!!"
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At the interval, Mumbai Indians were congratulating themselves for restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to a gettable score. When the game concluded, the clapping and high-fiving had changed hands