Mumbai thrash KKR to romp into finals

Led by solid bowling display, the Mumbai Indians thump Kolkata Knight Riders by 6 wickets; sets up Maharashtra-derby with RPS

Bengaluru: Maintaining their historical dominance over Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, courtesy brilliant spells from Jasprit Bumrah and Karn Sharma made it to their first IPL  final in 2 years at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday.

Bumrah and Karn Sharma, in particular, were on the money as bowling first on a dry and slow surface; Mumbai Indians dismantled KKR for 107 in the Qualifier 2. For a change, even the rain which played spoilsport in the eliminator on Wednesday- chose to stay away from the action as Mumbai Indians ran out victors with 6 wickets and more than 5 overs to spare.
 
RPS awaits in the final
Mumbai Indians will now travel to Hyderabad to face the surprise package of the tenth edition of IPL, the Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday. Interestingly, the Steve-Smith led Pune outfit have beaten Mumbai Indians thrice this term, twice in group stages and on Tuesday in the first qualifier.

Such was Mumbai bowlers’ control over the proceedings that never once did they allow Kolkata’s run-rate to escalate beyond 6. The uneven bounce did not help either as KKR got off to worst possible start, slumping to 31 for 5 after 7 just overs.

Stuttering KKR
Suryakumar Yadav, who played in place of the injured Manish Pandey top-scored for KKR with 31, while Ishank Jaggi made 28 as the duo added some respectability to the total with a 56-run stand from 47 balls. Suryakumar perished in the search for quick runs in the 18th over before Ankit Rajpoot was bowled by Lasith Malinga.

Mitchell Johnson, who replaced the injured Mitchell McClenaghan, bowled an excellent first spell before he was rewarded with a couple of wickets in his final over. KKR’s batsmen never look settled and kept losing wickets at regular intervals to be shot out in 18.5 overs.

Karn’s career best figures
For Mumbai, Karn Sharma finished with his career-best figures of four for 16 off his stipulated four overs. Jasprit Bumrah too was right on cue with his yorkeres, taking three wickets for just 7 runs in three overs.

Keeping veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh on the bench, Karn vindicated Rohit Sharma’s faith in him as he outfoxed pinch-hitter Sunil Narine in his very first over with a googly.

The Mumbai Indians spinner followed up his two-run and a wicket over with two more wickets in his second over. KKR captain Gautam Gambhir picked him for a four on the first ball of the over but Karn came back strongly.

When Gambhir tried to hit him over the midwicket, the left-handed batsman couldn’t find the elevation and was caught at the fence. Karn followed it up with a peach of a delivery to nail Colin de Grandhomme for a first-ball duck-presenting Karn a hat-trick opportunity.

After that Kolkata tail-enders could not withstand the pressure of consolidating the damage done in the early overs and perished cheaply to Mumbai’s disciplined bowling effort.

Chasing a moderate target, Mumbai Indians lost Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel relatively early, but Krunal Pandya (45 not out) and Rohit Sharma (26) made sure that they do not panic, which quite often triggers a collapse.

Even though he made just 26, Rohit Sharma looked his old self with an assured stay in the middle. This inning will act as a welcome boost for a man woefully short on confidence and form.

The two-time champions MI would take heart from the fact that they put in a spirited performance, after a heart-breaking defeat to local rivals Rising Pune Supergiant on Tuesday at the Wamkhede Stadium.

Scoreboard
Kolkata Knight Riders innings
Chris Lynn c Pollard b Bumrah 4 (8b); Sunil Narine st Patel b Karn Sharma 10 (10b, 1x6); Gautam Gambhir c Hardik Pandya b Karn Sharma 12 (15b, 2x4); Robin Uthappa lbw b Bumrah 1 (3b); Ishaan Jaggi c Johnson b Karn Sharma 28 (31b, 3x4); Colin de Grandhomme lbw b Karn Sharma 0 (1b); Suryakumar Yadav c Malinga b Bumrah 31 (25b, 2x4, 1x6); Piyush Chawla c Rayudu b Johnson 2 (6b); Nathan Coulter-Nile c Hardik Pandya b Johnson 6 (4b, 1x6); Umesh Yadav not out 2 (3b); Aniket Rajpoot b Malinga 4 (7b, 1x4)
Extras: (lb 3, w 4) 7
Total: (all out; 18.5 overs) 107
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-24, 3-25, 4-31, 5-31, 6-87, 7-94, 8-100, 9-101, 10-107
Bowling: Mitchell Johnson 4-0-28-2; Jasprit Bumrah 3-1-7-3; Lasith Malinga 3.5-0-24-1; Karn Sharma 4-0-16-4; Krunal Pandya 3-0-25-0; Hardik Pandya 1-0-4-0.

Mumbai Indians innings
Lendl Simmons lbw b Chawla 3 (6b); Parthiv Patel c Uthappa b Umesh Yadav 14 (9b, 3x4); Ambati Rayudu b Chawla 6 (11b); Rohit Sharma c Rajpoot b Coulter-Nile 26 (24b, 1x4, 1x6)
Krunal Pandya not out 42 (30b, 7x4); Kieron Pollard not out 9 (7b, 1x4)
Extras: (lb 4, w 4) 8
Total: (4 wickets; 14.3 overs) 108
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-24, 3-34, 4-88
Bowling: Umesh Yadav 2.3-0-20-1; Piyush Chawla 4-0-34-2; Nathan Coulter-Nile 3-0-15-1; Sunil Narine 4-0-21-0; Aniket Rajpoot 1-0-14-0.
Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets.