Champions League SRL | TKR vs MI Evaluation Chart - Inspired Ali Khan helps Knight Riders get past Mumbai

ByAakash Sivasubramaniam, SportsCafe Editor

05/08/2020

An inspired spell from Ali Khan kick-started the proceedings for the home side before the Mumbai Indians lower-order made a mess of their own. No hiccups were the order of the second innings as the openers Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine helped TKR to a resounding victory over Mumbai.

Match Review

Well, previously in the SRL, we were high praise of the Mumbai Indians top order. Today is the day where everything reversed, with the top-order just not up to the mark. On top of that, they left the entire team trailing behind early on at 49/4. However, some marks to the middle-order for putting up some kind of a fight as the Ambani-owned side scored a total of 104 for the loss of nine wickets, which arguably is one of their worst nights in the tournament.

There isn’t much to talk about the chase really, with the side from the Caribbean putting on a top-notch show, as Mumbai were wrecked in both the innings. The opening partnership of Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons was enough to thwart the threatening Mumbai opening bowlers. Since then, there was no point in the game that the home side looked in any sort of trouble; kudos to their gameplay.

Turning Point

At 34/2 in the 5th over, things were going pretty well for the Mumbai Indians, with their aim of reaching a good total towards the end of the innings; one man that was crucial and integral to the plan - Rohit Sharma - was still standing strong at the crease. However, once the skipper departed, the tourist’s aspiration of putting a good total on board too came crashing down.

Highs and Lows

Trinbago Knight Riders’ bowlers were probably the best of the lot in the game that was otherwise filled with half-measures and lacklustreness. Never in any point of the visitors’ batting innings did the home bowlers feel troubled. They dominated, overpowered and outlasted the battle between bat and ball in the crucial encounter. Not only did they pose some serious questions to the top-order, but they also restricted runs towards the end, meaning that the visitors did not get to any end at the innings break. If you could get the away side to a total of 103-9, despite having a host of star-powered names, then pretty much that is the high point.

Mumbai openers Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma were the other half of this segment - low. In the past, in this tournament, we have talked so highly about the duo that they have won nearly all the games that they have played thus far in the league. However, this game was different, starkly different, if I could put it out. They were just bleeped up terrible from the word go, ensuring that their innings halted as much as the cars in their city’s traffic. Moreso, it was a worrying performance from the openers, who are a vital component of the team’s batting order.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: Mumbai Indians 5/10 and Trinbago Knight Riders 4/10

The less I talk about Mumbai’s top order, the better for the team and its management on the night. They would already be trolled and criticised heavily for their performance on Twitter and other social media platforms. But hold on, that will not stop me from tearing into their efforts on the night. Mumbai were 49/4 before the powerplay got done and dusted. Yes, we are talking about a line-up that has Rohit, de Kock, Lynn and Yadav at the top of the batting charts. So if they are so hyped about on the circuit, they must do something right? Well, in this situation, none!

There really isn’t much that we can criticise from this performance from the Trinbago Knight Riders. They did nothing wrong, really! From the word go, they were on target, right what the doctor ordered in terms of going around the business. The duo of Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine put on a masterclass, scoring 54 runs at the end of the powerplay without the loss of any wicket.

Middle-overs manoeuvring: Mumbai Indians 6/10 and Trinbago Knight Riders 5/10

Mumbai were better off right from the 6th over, not sure if it was desperation which caused their engine to roll. But, once they did get it running, they started accumulating runs at a steady pace, losing just two wickets. Nevertheless, an inspired performance in the middle-overs allowed them to get to a total of 100 towards the end. But, the catch being, they only scored 28 runs in the first nine overs, which ended up giving a Test-esque feeling to the contest.

Trinbago just knew what they had to do, which is to continue scoring runs at whatever rate that they felt comfortable with, after that lightning start. They just played it out, like most of the sides do when they are losing on the 5th day of a Test match. However, they did lose three wickets but nothing would be as detrimental because the damage was already done early on in the night.

Death bowling: Mumbai Indians n/a and Trinbago Knight Riders 6/10

There is a reason that n/a finds itself a place next to Mumbai Indians name. The reason being that they couldn't even take the game till the death overs. A forgettable night - and performance - if I could say.

On the other hand, Trinbago did bowl in the death overs and did a pretty good job. On any other night, I would reckon that the death-overs performance was one of the greatest, conceding 26 runs and picking two wickets. However, after the start that Mumbai got in the early phase of the game, giving away 26 runs was rather on the higher side.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Star-bore-dom+1

Last time, I was at this desk - the game was a star-bore-dom. This time, it was no different and when I will see the names of Rohit and Quinton de Kock next time around, I would always remember this game, where they looked as hopeless as me, who was bearing the pain of sitting through this game. Never was this match even remotely interesting.