Devastating bowling effort from Mitchell Johnson and co. help Mumbai into fourth IPL final against Smith’s Supergiant
The result: Kolkata Knight Riders 107 (K Sharma 4-16, Bumrah 3-7) defeated by Mumbai Indians 4-111 (K Pandya 45*, Chawla 2-34) by six wickets.
The match in a tweet: Mumbai say bye-bye to Kolkata as Indians bowlers terrorise Knight Riders into submission, posting their fifth-lowest total ever
Top-order tribulations: Things started poorly for Kolkata, with inclusion Mitchell Johnson troubling the dangerous Chris Lynn in the opening over, able to muster only three runs. Frustrations boiled over when Lynn clipped Jasprit Bumrah to long-on the next over, starting a collapse that the Knight Riders barely recovered from. Their first five wickets fell for 31 runs with all four of their leading run scorers dismissed in the onslaught before Ishank Jaggi and Surykumar Yadav combined for a 56-run stand that restored hope for Gautam Gambhir’s men.
The dynamic duo: Mumbai tweaker Karn Sharma was unstoppable, destroying the Knight Riders’ top-order with a shattering spell of 4-16 from his allotted overs. But his pace partner in Jasprit Bumrah was just as destructive, with 3-7 from three overs. A wicket maiden was the icing on the cake for the quick, who removed Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa at the top of the order, adding Yadav to his repertoire as well as 14 dot balls, the only boundary from his bowling coming off an inside edge that narrowly missed the stumps.
Mumbai’s stranglehold: Kolkata were bundled out for 107, their fifth lowest total of all time. But this wasn’t unusual, with Mumbai acting as tormentors to the Knight Riders since the IPL’s inception. Four out of five of Kolkata’s lowest team scores have come against the Indians, with Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga a feature in all but one encounter dating back to 2008.
Mitchell’s Mayhem: Mitchell Johnson was a late inclusion for the Mumbai Indians, who scrambled to replace Mitchell McClenaghan who was injured after his side’s previous match. The left-arm quick from New Zealand would be a huge out for Mumbai, having taken the most powerplay wickets in IPL10, but Johnson was a fair replacement with the ball. He took the first over and troubled the usually ice-cool Chris Lynn, before returning to take the wickets of Piyush Chawla and a rampant Nathan Coulter-Nile, finishing with 2-28 from his four overs and regularly reaching speeds above 140kph. His trademark bouncers also had the commentary team – including long-time adversary Kevin Pietersen – applauding the Aussie speedster.
Mitchell Johnson reprises role as terroriser
The Aussie Pack: Chris Lynn had a night to forget for Kolkata, out for four finding the fielder at long-on and starting a collapse that his side never recovered from. Coulter-Nile added six with the bat – a monstrous hit over mid-wicket from the bowling of Mitchell Johnson – before claiming 1-15 from a respectable three overs. Johnson was a brilliant inclusion for the victors with 2-28 adding to the bowling effort from the Indians.
The wash-up: To the victors go the spoils, as Mumbai make the hour-trip up to Hyderabad to face Steve Smith’s Supergiant in the IPL10 final on Sunday night – and the fourth of their history. As for Kolkata, it’s the end of a season where they finished a respectable second on the table but yet another season without silverware for the two-time winners.
