NEW DELHI: Following the Mumbai Indians' clash with the Kolkata Knight Riders, Australian World Cup-winning all-rounder
Shane Watson
commented that the Kolkata-based franchise did not deserve to win the match due to their initial loss of five wickets in quick succession.
KKR secured a 24-run victory against MI at the Wankhede Stadium, powered by an impressive 83-run partnership between
Venkatesh Iyer
and Manish Pandey, complemented by
Mitchell Starc
's outstanding bowling performance, claiming figures of 4-33.
This win marked Kolkata Knight Riders' first victory at the Wankhede Stadium in 12 years, bringing them closer to the playoff spots in the tournament.
The former Australian cricketer emphasized that the Knight Riders had little justification for winning the match after losing their first five wickets so quickly in their encounter against the five-time champions MI.
"KKR had no right to win that game tonight after the position they were in five wickets down. It just shows the fight that they have and also just some of the things that happened. Some of the decisions that were made whether that was bowling changes or batting lineup deployment, some of those decisions were very baffling just to really give KKR the upper hand in a game that was just on a knife's edge at certain times," Watson said on Jio Cinema.
The 42-year-old further mentioned that this victory would significantly boost the confidence of the Shreyas Iyer-led side.
"Look that will give KKR so much confidence to know that they don't have to be at their very best and be in a position where the game was nearly done and they've got the fight and determination to find their way to actually get on the right side of the result," the two-time IPL champion added.
Coming to the match, put to bat first, a solid partnership stand of 83 runs between Venkatesh Iyer (70 off 52) and Manish Pandey (42 off 31) guided KKR to 169. For MI, Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers at 3 for 18 in 3.5 overs with two wickets in one over.
In reply, MI were bundled out for 145. Starc made a terrific comeback in the tournament returning with a figure of 4-33 in just 3.5 spells, handing KKR a 24-run victory. Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine both finished with identical figures of 2/22, including some big wickets in the first half of the chase which put KKR on top in the match.
Following the win, KKR stand in second place on
IPL 2024
standings with 14 points. Meanwhile, MI hold ninth place with 6 points by their name.
KKR will next take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday.
(With ANI inputs)
English (US) ·