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KKR bowler Andre Russell was at his brilliant best with the ball against MI. In 2 overs, Russell bagged 5 wickets, conceding only 15 runs. The KKR side did quite well to restrict Mumbai to a total of 152. In reply, KKR openers Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill gave KKR the ideal start. The duo notched a crucial 72 run partnership to put KKR in a commanding position in the match. Gill got out in the 8th over, amassing 33 runs in 24 balls. Prior to that, Rana got out in the 10th over, with 57 runs to his name. After the openers were dismissed, KKR’s batting order lost its sense of direction. Even though KKR needed just 31 runs in 6 overs, they failed to apply the finishing touch. In the end, MI won the match by a margin of 10 runs. That said, here is a list of 3 takeaways from Kolkata’s batting against MI in IPL 2021:
Nitish Rana is in fine form in IPL 2021
After a scintillating knock of 80, Nitish Rana bagged another fifty against Mumbai. Despite ending on the losing side, Rana is the current orange cap holder in IPL 2021. Rana’s superb form means that KKR doesn’t need to look further for an opening batsman alongside Shubman Gill. KKR will hope that Nitish Rana keeps scoring runs throughout the course of the IPL this year.
Shubman Gill looked in good touch with the bat
Although Gill could not notch a big score, his innings of 33 set the tone for KKR. Gill did not perform well in KKR’s 1st match in IPL 2021. However, his decent knock of 33 will bring respite among KKR fans. Facing MI, Gill smashed a total of 4 boundaries and 1 six. Gill will need to be consistent if KKR want to contend for the IPL this year.
KKR’s finishers fail to deliver against MI
With just 31 needed in 6 overs, everyone backed KKR to win the match quite easily. However, it was not to be. After Shakib al Hasan’s dismissal, KKR’s batting order started falling apart. Russell failed to make an impact with the bat, as he got out for just 9 runs. Dinesh Karthik was run out, scoring just 8 runs. Pat Cummins was dismissed for a duck. By then, it was too late as KKR needed 13 runs in the last 2 balls. Eoin Morgan will need his finishers to deliver, or else KKR could endure another trophyless season in the IPL.