Forties from Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana as well as Pat Cummins’ three-wicket haul led Kolkata Knight Riders to a 52-run victory over Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. 

A strong bowling performance to defend 165 ensured the Knight Riders stayed in the race for a play-off spot as they registered their fifth win of the season. The win also saw them overtake Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in the points table to jump to the seventh position. 

Having made as many as five changes with Pat Cummins and Varun Chakaravarthy coming into the side, a disciplined bowling effort led by Pat Cummins (3-22), Andre Russell’s 2-22 and a wicket each for Chakaravarthy and Southee bowled out Mumbai Indians for 113 in the eighteenth over to complete the side’s biggest win over their opponents. 

Ishan Kishan anchored Mumbai’s chase with a 43-ball 51 but found little support as Kieron Pollard had the next highest score of 15. Southee and Russell struck once each in the powerplay as Cummins struck thrice in the fifteenth over to send back Kishan, Daniel Sams and Murugan Ashwin. Bumrah, who picked his maiden five-wicket haul earlier, was the last of the three run-outs to be affected in the eighteenth over to hand the men in Purple and Gold a 52-run victory. 

"If you see the matches that we lost previously, especially the past game, we lost by a big margin. So to come back and winning a game with a really big margin is a satisfying feeling," skipper Shreyas Iyer said after the game. "The way we played with high spirits and a good vibe, I'm proud of it. The win was comprehensive. The players were charged up to win the game. 

Earlier with the bat, the Knight Riders aced the powerplay as they reverted to their original duo of Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane and the two put up KKR’s first 50-run opening partnership with a stand of 60. Iyer batted fearlessly to score a breezy 24-ball 43 and was instrumental in posting the side’s highest powerplay score this season - 64 for 1. 

Rahane was bowled around his legs attempting a reverse sweep off Kumar Kartikeya in the eleventh over but Nitish Rana kept the scoreboard moving with an entertaining 26-ball 43 hitting three fours and four sixes. Shreyas Iyer’s wicket in the fourteenth over precipitated a stunning collapse as the Knight Riders lost 7 wickets for 41 runs to finish at 165 for 9. 

In the process, Bumrah bagged his best T20 figures with figures of 5 for 10 in four overs as he snared all his five wickets using the short ball to a good effect. He removed Andre Russell and Nitish Rana in the space of three deliveries in the fifteenth over and returned to bowl a triple-wicket maiden over at the death to stem the run-flow.