In Match 22 of TATA IPL 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the Mumbai Indians (MI) secured their second consecutive win by defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets. MI’s victory was fueled by Ishan Kishan’s explosive knock of 58 runs off just 25 balls, supported by contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (43 runs off 25 balls) and Tilak Varma (30 runs off 25 balls).
Earlier in the match, KKR had set a challenging target of 186 runs for MI to chase, thanks to a superb century by Venkatesh Iyer, who scored 104 runs off 51 balls. However, MI’s bowlers bounced back in the second half of the first innings and restricted KKR to 185/6.
In the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav led MI and won the toss, choosing to bowl first. MI also made three changes to their starting XI, including handing debuts to Arjun Tendulkar and Duan Jansen. KKR made one change, with Venkatesh Iyer replacing Suyash Sharma.
Arjun Tendulkar bowled the first over of the innings for MI and impressed with his swing bowling. Cameron Green got the first breakthrough for MI, dismissing N Jagadeesan caught brilliantly by Hrithik Shokeen at the point. Venkatesh Iyer then counter-attacked for KKR, hitting boundaries and sixes to accumulate runs quickly. However, MI’s bowlers, including Piyush Chawla, managed to restrict KKR to 185/6, despite Iyer’s century.
Chasing the target, MI got off to a blazing start with Kishan hitting a couple of fours and a six in the second over from Shardul Thakur. He continued his aggressive batting, smashing boundaries and sixes along with MI captain Rohit Sharma, who scored 20 runs off 13 balls. Kishan brought up his fifty off just 21 balls and looked set to take MI to victory. However, he was dismissed for 58 runs off 25 balls by Varun Chakravarthy.
Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma then took charge of the chase and kept the momentum going for MI. Yadav played some aggressive shots, hitting sixes and fours, and brought the equation down to 39 runs needed off 42 balls at the halfway mark. Varma supported him well with a cameo of 30 runs off 25 balls before getting dismissed by Suyash Sharma.
With 38 runs needed off 36 balls, Tim David joined Yadav in the middle, and the duo continued to attack KKR’s bowlers. David hit a couple of crucial sixes to bring the equation down to 23 runs needed off 30 balls. Yadav was eventually dismissed for 43 runs off 25 balls, but he had done his job in getting MI close to victory.
With just 10 runs needed off 21 balls, MI lost Nehal Wadhera, caught behind off Lockie Ferguson. However, David remained unbeaten on 24 runs off 13 balls and hit the winning run with 14 deliveries to spare, securing a convincing five-wicket win for MI.
In the end, MI’s dominant batting performance, led by Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tim David, ensured their victory over KKR, making it two wins in a row in the TATA IPL 2023.
