Would want my bowling unit to deliver more: KKR captain Nitish Rana after defeat against MI

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 16 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana urged his bowlers to improve after they suffered a five wickets defeat by Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Venkatesh Iyer's maiden ton went in vain as Ishan Kishan's fifty and Suryakumar Yadav's quick-fire knock of 43 runs guided Mumbai Indians (MI) to a 5-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

"They targeted our best bowlers and it paid off for them. We could have done better in the powerplay. I would want my bowling unit to deliver more. Anyone can have a bad game or two but it is happening consistently with us. We will go back to the dressing room and talk about it" said Rana during his post-match presentation.

The Mumbai Indians then began their chase, flying out of the blocks. Rohit came on as an impact sub to partner Kishan, and they put on a 65-run opening stand. Kishan would go on to score his fifty, Suryakumar Yadav would score 43 runs, and Tim David would return unbeaten at 24 to help the five-time IPL champions win their second game of IPL 2023.

The KKR captain also expressed sympathy for Iyer, who scored a hat trick but couldn't save his team from defeat. Iyer was the only KKR player to score a century in the IPL since Brendon McCullum 15 years ago, but Nitish Rana stated that he expects more tonnes from his teammates in the future.

"I think we were 15-20 runs short. Credit to PC bhai (Piyush Chawla) for the way he bowled. Feel bad for Venky, he scored a hundred, played so well but finished on the losing side. The whole team knows this was the second hundred for a player from KKR. Other players from our side will also score hundreds going forward," added the KKR skipper.

Coming to the match, Kishan scored the highest for Mumbai with 58 off 25 while Suryakumar played a fine knock of 43 runs in 25 balls. For KKR, Suyash Sharma bagged two while Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakaravarthy and Lockie Ferguson claimed one wicket each.

Chasing a target of 186, Mumbai got off to a fiery start as their openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma hammered Shardul Thakur for 16 runs in the second over of the game. The Mumbai duo continued their blistering form as they slammed Umesh Yadav for 17 runs with the help of two sixes and one four.

The constant strike rotation and picking up boundaries for fun kept the pressure off Mumbai. The Mumbai openers settled in with loose deliveries on offer and made use of the scoring opportunities given by the Kolkata pacers.

Kishan in red-hot form slammed Sunil Narine for 22 runs in the 4th over with the help of two sixes and brought his team's score beyond the 50-run mark.

The aggressive pair piled up beyond 60 runs in 5 overs, however, the 65-run partnership between the openers was broken as Suyash Sharma dismissed Rohit for 20.

The right-handed batter Suryakumar Yadav then came out to bat. Kishan kept his red-hot form going as he brought up a 21-ball half-century in the 8th over of the game. After slamming a maximum in the 9th over, Kishan fell prey to Varun Chakaravarthy's stunning ball. Ishan Kishan departed not before scoring a cracking 52 off just 22 deliveries.

Tilak Varma then came out to bat. The Mumbai batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the Kolkata bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer. Suyash Sharma then produced a stunning delivery to bowled Tilak Varma for 30 off 25.

Tim David then came out to bat and slammed Chakaravarthy for 15 runs with the help of two maximums. Suryakumar then fell prey in the 17th over to Shardul Thakur after scoring 43 runs. Nehal Wadhera then came out to bat but could to do much as he was sent back to the pavilion after scoring just 6 runs. In the 18th over David guided his team to a 5-wicket victory over KKR.

Earlier, Venkatesh Iyer became the first player to score a century for Kolkata Knight Riders in 15 years as his blistering knock of 104 (51) took KKR's tally to 185/6 in 20 overs against Mumbai Indians. (ANI)