Starc, Venkatesh Iyer star as Kolkata beat Mumbai by 24 runs

Mitchell Starc picked up four wickets, while Venkatesh Iyer scored a half-century as a disciplined performance helped Kolkata Knight Riders seal a 24-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday.

Chasing a below-par target of 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 145 in 18.5 overs.

Suryakumar Yadav's 35-ball 56 briefly raised hopes for Mumbai, but his dismissal in the 16th over tilted the match in Kolkata's favour.

This marked Kolkata's first win at the Wankhede ground in 12 years and their seventh win out of 10 games this season.

Following their eighth loss in 11 games, Mumbai slumped to the ninth position in the 10-team competition, while Kolkata moved up to second place, well positioned for the playoffs.

Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya acknowledged their struggle to build partnerships and expressed disappointment with the outcome, and said, "Obviously, we couldn't form partnerships and kept losing wickets. There are a lot of questions that will take time to answer. But for now, not much to say."

Mumbai's batting innings got off to a shaky start, with Starc dismissing Ishan Kishan for 13, followed by Naman Dhir's departure for 11 off Varun Chakravarthy's bowling. Rohit Sharma, who came in as an impact substitute, was caught off Sunil Narine for 11, further denting Mumbai's chase.

Despite Suryakumar Yadav's half-century and Tim David's contribution of 24 runs, Kolkata managed to rein in the Mumbai batsmen, restricting them to a below-par total.

In their batting innings, Kolkata lost five quick wickets, including those of Phil Salt and skipper Shreyas Iyer, after being put in to bat. However, Venkatesh Iyer's resilient 70 and Manish Pandey's 42 stabilized Kolkata's innings, ensuring a respectable total on the board.

Reflecting on the victory, Kolkata's Varun Chakravarthy highlighted the significance of winning at the Wankhede after 12 years and praised the efforts of Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey in pulling the innings back from a precarious position.

Jasprit Bumrah and Nuwan Thushara stood out for Mumbai with three wickets each, troubling the Kolkata batsmen with their line and length on a lively wicket.

(AFP)