Ishan Kishan did a world of good to his profile as a T20 batsman, his breathtaking 21-ball 62 powering Mumbai Indians to an emphatic 102-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Vivo IPL at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. His superb knock took MI to 210 after it was asked to bat first. KKR’s meek surrender for a paltry 108 helped the visiting side register its fifth and biggest win and promoted it to the fourth spot.
Kishan pounced on the KKR bowlers like a hungry tiger. The diminutive southpaw began by stepping out to hoist Kuldeep Yadav over long-on before finding the gaps to plunder three boundaries off Piyush Chawla in the 11th over. The assault gave a much-needed fillip to the MI run rate.
The 19-year-old Jharkhand batsman not only overshadowed captain Rohit Sharma, who picked up his first boundary after 16 deliveries, but also opener Suryakumar Yadav, who had given MI a decent start with his 32-ball 36. Kishan’s astounding performance featured some fine footwork and exemplary shot selection as he bludgeoned six sixes, including four on-the-trot off Kuldeep in the 14th over.
His contribution, at a strike rate of more than 295, in a blazing 34-ball 88-run stand for the third wicket with Rohit, set a perfect stage for the batsmen to follow.
Kishan, who got his second half-century and the joint-second fastest 50 (achieved in 17 deliveries) of the season, departed in the 15th over. He was caught at backward square-leg, while trying for another six off Sunil Narine.
Rohit, who managed a sedate 36, added 33 runs with Hardik Pandya but it was Ben Cutting’s cameo, a nine-ball 24 — including 22 off the last over by Chawla — that helped MI reach its second 200-plus aggregate of the season.
Chawla ended up as KKR’s most successful and most expensive bowler. KKR bled profusely in the last seven overs, conceding 98 runs.
In reply, the Knight Riders batsmen crumbled under pressure, losing lost seven wickets, including two to run outs, for 76 inside 11 overs as the bowlers kept a tidy line.
Hardik’s focus on his bowling fetched him good rewards. His third over, which saw the dismissals of Dinesh Karthik — through a run out — and Nitish Rana, denied the host any chance of a comeback and worsened its poor track record against MI, a second loss in four days.
