IPL 2018, KKR vs MI: 5 talking points

Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders for the eighth consecutive time and for the second time in three days to continue their trademark late-season surge in the IPL to leapfrog their opponents into the fourth spot in the points table.

It started on a bright note for the hosts at the Eden Gardens as Dinesh Karthik won the toss and put Rohit Sharma 's side into bat.

The first ten overs saw Mumbai score just 72 runs for the loss of two wickets but the second half of the match saw a complete turnaround with young Ishan Kishan produce a batting master-class, scoring 62 off 21 balls.

Ishan's knock, along with a few good cameos from the Mumbai batsmen saw them score 210 runs off their 20 overs and it proved too big a target for KKR as they were bowled out for just 108 runs, giving the visitors a 102-run victory.

Here are the 5 major talking points from today's match.

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#5 Rohit Sharma struggles at the Eden Gardens for a change

As much as KKR feel confident about playing on their home turf at the Eden Gardens, the prospect of facing a Mumbai Indians side led by Rohit Sharma has always been a spot of bother for the Kolkata-based franchise.

Sharma absolutely loves the venue - the world record 264* against Sri Lanka, highest Test individual score of 177, his first IPL ton and many more memorable knocks - have come at the iconic stadium but tonight proved to a very different tale for the 31-year-old.

Sharma struggled with his batting all night and if not for Kishan's wonderful innings and a few cameos from the other Mumbai Indians batsmen, the skipper would have had a lot of explaining to do after scoring just 36 runs from 31.

He hit just two boundaries and a six during his stay at the crease and never looked comfortable out in the middle.

#4 Dinesh Karthik's captaincy blunders

The KKR skipper made a few questionable calls in today's match

Dinesh Karthik's captaincy has been a mixed bag in IPL 2018 as KKR has failed to maintain a level of consistency with their performances on the field.

He has made a few smart moves but also a number of bizarre decisions that has surprised quite a few people and his decision to hand Piyush Chawla the ball in the final over undoubtedly tops the list.

The over yielded 22 runs with Ben Cutting launching two huge sixes and nearly a third one before being caught at the mid-wicket boundary by Andre Russell but Krunal Pandya made it three for the over anyway with his first-ball six.

The decision to bowl the leg-spinner when Ishan Kishan came into bat was also baffling considering the success the young wicketkeeper-batsman was having against the leg-spinners during IPL 2018.

KKR paid the price for the costly error as the 11th over bowled by Chawla cost 14 runs and helped Kishan get going and thereby completely change the course of the match.

#3 KKR's sorry run-chase

Lynn's run out after a mix up with Uthappa meant that KKR's slim chances of a win was over early on.

Already set with a daunting task if chasing down 211, KKR lost wickets at regular wickets and were never in the contest right from Sunil Narine's dismissal off the second ball of their innings.

Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa looked like being able to offer some resistance but the pair's confusion led to the former being run out and that was basically the last chance KKR had of winning the match going down the drain.

Nitish Rana also produced a few hits but wickets continued to tumble at the other end as the pressure of the run-chase coupled with excellent bowling by the Mumbai Indians bowlers saw KKR ending up being bowled out for just 108 runs.

The 102-run defeat was KKR's eighth consecutive loss against Mumbai Indians in the IPL and also their heaviest defeat in terms of margin of runs in the tournament's history.

#2 Mumbai Indians and their trademark late-season comeback

Mumbai Indians have made tremendous progress off late as they so often do in the IPL

Much like their skipper Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians has a history of starting off slowly in the IPL before regaining their focus and once they get going, they are a pretty hard team to beat.

The 2018 IPL season has been no different and with their title-winning experience, the other franchises would certainly be looking over their shoulders considering the progress Mumbai have made off late.

They have a good mix of players who are coming into form at just the right time and it is frightening to imagine how they would fare when the skipper, who has struggled to get going this season, gets back into his groove.

Bowling is undoubtedly their biggest strength but as Ishan Kishan showed today, they have plenty of strength in depth throughout the line-up to cause some serious damage to the opposition.

They are the team in form and has the momentum to continue their surge up the 2018 IPL points table.

#1 Ishan Kishan's match-winning knock

Ishan's fearless knock was the turning point of the match

When Ishan Kishan walked into the middle at the fall of Suryakumar Yadav's wicket, Mumbai Indians were struggling at 62/2 after 9 overs.

Skipper Rohit Sharma, who promoted himself up the order above Kishan in an attempt to continue his love affair with Eden Gardens, was struggling to get a proper connection with the ball and the hosts were well and truly on top in the contest.

Kuldeep Yadav bamboozled Kishan off his very first delivery but from then on, it was the latter who triumphed in the battle as he hit as many as five sixes, including four consecutive hits over the boundary ropes, off the left-arm chinaman bowler.

Kishan hit the ground running right from the word go and it was a delight to see the young wicketkeeper-batsman triumph against the accomplished spinners in the KKR side.

Kishan's 21-ball 62 not just eased the pressure off Rohit Sharma but also helped the side gain some much-needed momentum and completely changed the complexion of the game as Mumbai ended up with 210 off their 20 overs.

Kishan has shown glimpses of brilliance throughout the campaign but he truly turned the corner tonight with his majestic knock.

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