Mumbai squeeze past Kolkata to ignite title defence

Rahul Chahar of Mumbai Indians celebrates the wicket of Nitish Rana (right) of Kolkata Knight Riders during their Indian Premier League match at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai yesterday. (Sportzpics for IPL)

Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians put their Indian Premier League title defence back on track yesterday by beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs. Mumbai, who lost their opener last week, defended a modest total of 152 and then kept Kolkata to just 142 for seven to seal the win in Chennai. Kolkata seemed to be cruising at 122-3 in the 15th over but Nitish Rana’s departure after his 47-ball 57 triggered a Mumbai fightback. Mumbai Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar claimed four wickets while New Zealand pace bowler Trent Boult took two. “I knew if anybody could change the game here, it would be a spinner,” said man-of-the -match Chahar. Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya also stood out with the key wicket of Shakib Al Hasan, for nine, and gave away just 13 runs from his fours overs. “Anyone who came to bowl at different stages wanted to put their hands up and do something for the team,” Sharma said after the victory. “We can take a lot of confidence from this game. There were lots of positives.” Kolkata’s fall came after a 72-run opening stand between Rana, who had scored 80 in his team’s opening win on Sunday, and Shubman Gill, who made 33. The rest of the Kolkata batsmen failed to make it into double digits, prompting the team’s Bollywood actor owner Shah Rukh Khan to apologise to his fans. “Disappointing performance. to say the least @KKRiders apologies to all the fans!” he wrote on Twitter. Mumbai’s bowling effort overshadowed a five-wicket haul by Kolkata pace bowler Andre Russell. Russell made an impact after being brought on to bowl in the 18th over of the Mumbai innings and struck twice including the key wicket of fellow West Indian Kieron Pollard for five. He then got three wickets in four deliveries of the 20th over to dismiss Mumbai on the final ball. Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by David Warner, will take on Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai today. BRIEF SCORES: Mumbai Indians 152 (Yadav 56, Rohit 43, Russell 5-15) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 142 for 7 (Rana 57, Gill 33, Chahar 4-27) by 10 runs.