KKR vs MI Man of the Match: Kolkata Knight Riders star player was declared the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his all-round show vs MI.
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During the 47th match of the ongoing 12th season of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at Kolkata, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Mumbai Indians by 34 runs to register their fifth IPL 2019 victory.
Chasing a mammoth 233-run target, Mumbai had a horrific start as they scored a paltry 41/2 in the powerplay. With them losing two more wickets in the next three overs, it seemed as if they would succumb to one of the biggest defeats in the tournament.
Having said that, all-rounder Hardik Pandya kept his team in the near-impossible chase with a near-impossible innings. Coming in to bat at No. 6 in the ninth over, the 25-year old cricketer ended up scoring 91 (34) with the help of six four and nine sixes as MI eventually scored 198/7 in 20 overs.
KKR vs MI Man of the Match
After MI captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to field, Knight Riders posted a formidable 232/3 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. All-rounder Andre Russell set the stage on fire with his fourth half-century of the season. The 30-year old cricketer scored 80* (40) with the help of six fours and eight sixes.
With bowling figures of 4-0-25-2, Russell was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts. Other than dismissing Evin Lewis (15) and Suryakumar Yadav (26), what Russell did the best in the second innings was restrict the unstoppable Hardik Pandya.
Given him following his honest words with all-round effort on the field, Russell was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ award. “[secret behind power-hitting] Co-ordination, good balance and I generate a lot of power from my shoulders. You have to make sure your body is fit and strong. Definitely one of my best T20 days. We knew we needed to get 200+,” Russell was quoted as saying during the post-match presentation.
The victory has put an end to Knight Riders’ spree of six losses in a row. Having returned back to winning ways, Knight Riders are currently at No. 5 in the points table with a couple of matches remaining.
