MI vs KKR talking points: KKR kneel before Pollard's brute force

NEW DELHI: A look at the key passages of play from Match 24 of the Indian Premier League season nine, in which Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets at the Wankhede stadium on Thursday. With four victories in eight games, Mumbai jumped to third in the standings, equal on points with Kolkata who are second.
Gambhir-Uthappa stand
Sent in to bat, Gautam Gambhir struck a four off the first delivery of Mitchell McClenaghan in the second over, and in the last ball of the over, the New Zealand pacer missed a simple caught and bowled chance to give KKR skipper an early reprieve. Robin Uthappa hit two fours off Tim Southee in the next over to score 17 runs in it and then hit the first six of the innings in the fifth over off Jasprit Bumrah. He hit another six in the second ball off Harbhajan Singh's first over to take KKR to fifty in just 5.2 overs and ended the Powerplay on 59 for no loss. During the partnership, Gambhir and Uthappa - the second best opening pair of the IPL - also completed 1200 runs as partners and also put on their fourth fifty-run stand of the season, before Harbhajan gave Mumbai the important break, in the eighth over, by dismissing Uthappa for 36. Gambhir, who later completed his third fifty of the season, put on 69 runs for the opening wicket with Uthappa.
Wickets in pair keep KKR in check
Whenever KKR were on the move, they lost two wickets in quick succession which stopped them to push the total further than they finally achieved. First, Gambhir and Uthappa took them to 69/0 before Harbhajan dismissed the latter for 36, caught by Pollard at long-on while trying to smack a full toss out of the park. Mumbai soon got the second wicket, when Shakib Al Hasan gave away a catch to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel off Hardik Pandya's bouncer in the next over. KKR had lost two quick wickets and reduced to 77/2 in 8.5 overs from 69/0 in 7.3 overs.
Next, Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav kept the scoreboard ticking and then the KKR skipper hit a six and four in successive deliveries of Krunal Pandya in the 13th over to reach his fifty off 39 balls. But in the next over, Gambhir mishit McClenaghan's short delivery and gave away a simple catch to Kieron Pollard at mid-off. Gambhir's 59 in 45 balls included a six and six fours, as he added 44 runs for the third wicket with Suryakumar in five overs. KKR lost another wicket in quick time, as Southee came back in the 16th to dismiss Suryakumar for 21. So again, KKR had lost wickets in pair, this time for ten runs in two overs as they found themselves on 130/4 in 15.5 overs from 121/2 in 13.4.
Rohit's fifty and stand with Rayudu
Rohit Sharma started the chase with a six in the second ball off Jaydev Unadkat and Ambati Rayudu kept the runs flowing by hitting a four off Umesh Yadav and then a four and a six off consecutive balls off Shakib. Rohit chimed in with two back-to-back fours off Yadav in the fourth, before hitting another six off Unadkat in the bowler's second spell to take Mumbai past fifty-run mark. The duo safely took the hosts to 64/1 after Powerplay overs. It took a stunning catch by Suryakumar at wide long-on to dismiss Rayudu, who scored 32 off 20 balls with the help of a six and five boundaries, as Shakib ended their 59-run stand for the second wicket. Rohit then guided Mumbai to 85/3 at the halfway mark, and they crossed 100 in the 12th over. Rohit soon completed his fourth fifty of the season, 28th in IPL, off 36 balls and finished unbeaten on 68 in 49 balls, which included two sixes and eight fours.
Narine gets the respect
When all the KKR bowlers were being taken to the cleaners by Mumbai batsmen, Sunil Narine was the only one who escaped the Pollard-Rohit carnage unscathed as he finished with figures of two for 22. Narine conceded just three boundaries in his quota of four overs and scalped the wickets of Krunal Pandya (6) and Jos Buttler (15). Other than Narine, Shakib had decent figures with one for 30 in his four overs. Remaining bowlers' figures read: Unadkat (3-0-49-0), Yadav (2-0-19-1), Rajagopal Sathish (2-0-30-0) and Andre Russell (3-0-28-0).
Pollard's brute force
Pollard came into bat when Mumbai had lost their fourth wicket for 106 after 13 overs and needed 69 more to win in 42 balls. Rohit hit two fours off Russell in the next over and Pollard did the same to Shakib as they took Mumbai to 126/4 after 15 overs. With 49 needed in five overs, Pollard targeted Sathish in the 16th and smacked three huge sixes in it to score 23 runs and made the equation a favourable 26 off 24 balls. Rohit then saw off Narine's final over to make it 19 off 18 balls. Pollard was in a hurry as he hit three more sixes off Unadkat to finish off the chase in style. Pollard hit the third fastest IPL fifty, off 17 balls, and remained unbeaten on 51, hitting six huge sixes and two fours. He added 72 runs for the fifth wicket with Rohit in just five overs as they chased down the 175-run target in 18 overs with six wickets remaining.