NEW DELHI: Venkatesh Iyer's impressive half-century outshone a similar effort from Suryakumar Yadav, as Mitchell Starc's four-wicket haul helped Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians by 24 runs in a low-scoring
IPL 2024
match. This victory marked KKR's first win at the Wankhede Stadium since 2012 and their second ever at the iconic venue.
In a match that was largely dictated by bowlers, Iyer saved KKR from a challenging 57/5 with his gritty 70 off 52 balls, guiding them to a modest total of 169.
In response, Starc's four-wicket burst, coupled with the two wickets each from KKR's spin duo Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, secured a historic win for the two-time champions.
Following the game, Mumbai Indians' star batsman
Rohit Sharma
was seen giving a hug to KKR's batting sensation
Rinku Singh
.
Though Rinku did not make India's main 15-member squad for the
T20 World Cup
in the West Indies and the USA, he has been named as a reserve player.
India's T20 World Cup journey kicks off against Ireland on June 5 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Mumbai Indians' social media account shared a video capturing the moment of Rohit's embrace after the match.
Despite his impressive record of 356 runs at an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.24 in T20Is for India, Rinku's exclusion has sparked significant debate since the Indian team's announcement and has created a stir on social media.