IPL 2020, KKR vs MI: Rohit Sharma blasts off Mumbai Indians to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders
In the 5th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Rohit Sharma's brilliant knock of 80 runs blasts off Mumbai Indians (MI) to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). MI beat KKR by 49 runs at Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav's great partnership allowed MI to give a target of 196 runs for the KKR to chase.
Dinesh Karthik won the toss for the KKR and decided to field first. After the fall of the wicket of opener Quinton de Kock (1), Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav gave a 100+ runs partnership for the MI. Rohit Sharma showed his masterclass performance with his knock of 80 runs off 54 balls. After the run out wicket of the Suryakumar Yadav, Sourav Tiwari came to the crease although he got out at just 21 runs by the Narine. The performance of Hardik Pandya and Keiron Pollard remained sub-par. Sunil Narine was the most economical bowler for the MI and was also successful in taking a wicket. Shubham Mavi showed his great bowling skills with him taking the crucial wickets of the openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. The star bowler of the KKR, Pat Cummins failed to impress as he gave away 49 runs in his 4 overs spell. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had a very bad start with both of their openers Shubman Gill and Sunil Narine coming back to the pavilion without crossing the 2 digit mark. Skipper Dinesh Karthik along with Nitish Rana played an average innings with the former making 30 runs before getting dismissed while the latter scoring 24 runs. Morgan and Russel were unable to hold the ground for the KKR. After failing in the bowling department, Pat Cummins showed some courage as he played explosive innings of 33 runs, aided by 4 sixes. Every bowler from the Mumbai side had a great game as 4 of them took 2 wickets each. However, Australian James Pattinson remained MI's most economical bowler. This match is a great comeback for the defending champions Mumbai Indians after their loss to Chennai Super Kings in the season opener of the 13th edition of the IPL. Skipper Rohit Sharma played a great game allowing MI to put a high score of 195 runs for the KKR to chase. The bowling performance of the MI players remains a highlight of Wednesday's epic match. Whereas, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are off to a bad start with their players being unable to make a mark in both batting or bowling department. Dinesh Karthik is required to make some positive changes in his team to improve their gameplay in the IPL 2020.
