Abu Dhabi
The Mumbai Indians juggernaut rolled on unabated as they recorded their fifth straight win with an eight-wicket mauling of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL here on Friday.
A tidy bowling effort by Mumbai Indians ensured that KKR were restricted to 148 for five after an unbeaten 53 by pace spearhead Pat Cummins.
Then, the defending champions rode on a blistering 44-ball 78 by Quinton de Kock, to chase down the target with 3.1 overs to spare.
De Kock, who struck nine fours and three sixes and skipper Rohit Sharma (35 off 36 balls), laid the foundation for the emphatic win with their 94-run first-wicket stand.
"We weren't even at the races today. We got a score to bowl at in the end, but the way Mumbai got off, it is tough to stop them. Given the match-ups, we are trying to play our best hand there. Today it didn't make that much of a difference; we were all in early," said skipper Eoin Morgan.
Earlier, pace spearhead Pat Cummins struck an invaluable 36-ball 53 to lift Kolkata Knight Riders from a hopeless situation to a respectable 148 for five.
"It is special to win as comprehensively as this when chasing. It gives us confidence. I guess now teams batting second will win most of the games. That's what I feel. The trend is changing," said Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma. And went on to add, "It is always a challenge when you have won four in four”.
Kolkata knight riders
R Tripathi c Yadav b Boult 7 (9)
S Gill c Pollard b Chahar 21 (23)
N Rana c †de Kock b Nile 5 (6)
D Karthik b Chahar 4 (8)
E Morgan (c) not out 39 (29)
A Russell c de Kock b Bumrah12 (9)
P Cummins not out 53 (36)
Extras: (lb-2, w-5) 7
TOTAL: (20 overs) 148-5
FoW: 1-18, 2-33, 3-42, 4-42, 5-61
BOWLING: T Boult 4-0-32-1, N
Coulter-Nile 4-0-51-1, J Bumrah 4-0
22-1, K Pandya 4-0-23-0, R Chahar
4-0-18-2.
Mumbai Indians
Q de Kock not out.........................78 (44)
S Yadav b Varun..........................10 (10)
H Pandya not out......................... 21 (11)
Extras: (lb-5)..........................................5
TOTAL: (16.5 overs).......................149-2
FoW: 1-94, 2-111
BOWLING: C Green 2.5-0-24-0,
P Cummins 3-0-28-0, MP Krishna
2-0-30-0, A Russell 2-0-15-0, C Varun
4-0-23-1, S Mavi 3-0-24-1
