A stellar display with the ball followed by an assured performance with the bat saw Mumbai beat Kolkata for the second time this season and rise to the top of the Indian T20 League standings.
Here are the key talking points from the contest:
De Kock's destructive redemption
A brilliant delivery to Pat Cummins from Jasprit Bumrah should have yielded a wicket for Mumbai, however, a drop from Quinton De Kock gave the Australian a lifeline and he made good use of it, scoring 17 off six balls in the final two overs. De Kock atoned for his mistake with the bat, smashing a magnificent and unbeaten 77 off 44 balls, guiding Mumbai to an eight-wicket win and back at the summit of the standings.
Varun's valiant effort with the ball
De Kock and Rohit Sharma's assault in the Powerplay all but ended Kolkata's chances to pull off a victory. However, spinner Varun Chakravarthy bowled a tremendous spell to keep his team in the hunt, giving away just 23 runs in his four overs and picking up the wicket of in-form Suryakumar Yadav. His economy rate of 5.75 was the best among all Kolkata bowlers, with Andre Russell's 7.50 a distant second.
Chahar and Krunal stifle Kolkata
Mumbai's pace attack has been the driving force of their bowling line-up, however, it was spin duo Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya who bowled terrific spells that restricted Kolkata to a paltry 148. Chahar finished with figures of 2-18 while Pandya gave away just 23 in his four overs, as the duo combined to give away just 41 runs in their eight overs. A top-notch effort from an underrated duo.
A one-sided rivalry
With this win, Mumbai completed the season double over Kolkata. This was their 21st win over the two-time champions, extending their own record of most wins against a single team. On the flip side, Kolkata have beaten Mumbai just six times and bar a run of three-straight wins, they have never beaten Mumbai in successive matches. The most lopsided rivalry in Indian T20 League history.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League
