Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) loyal custodian Manish Pandey once again delivered for the franchise with a matchwinning knock against Mumbai Indians (MI) today (March 20) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). The four-wicket win in the KKR vs MI game also ensured that the three-time champions stay alive in the playoffs race.
Kolkata will need Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) to win their respective last games while securing a win against Delhi Capitals (DC) to confirm qualification. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side has now climbed to the sixth spot in the table with 13 points from 13 games, while Mumbai remained at second-last with just four wins from 13 games.
Let’s check the key takeaways from KKR vs MI contest.
Kolkata Knight Riders put MI on the backfoot early into the contest as Cameron Green and Saurabh Dubey took two wickets each in the powerplay. A double blow from Cameron Green in the third over saw Ryan Rickelton (6) and Naman Dhir (0) MI walk back to the dugout cheaply. Next, Saurabh Dubey continued making inroads, getting the key wickets of Rohit Sharma (15) in the fourth over followed by Suryakumar Yadav (15) in the final over of the powerplay.
The 36-year-old Manish Pandey, who has been a part of the KKR title-winning side two times out of their trophies, stepped up with a clinical display. Chasing 148 on a tricky pitch, Kolkata lost openers Finn Allen (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (21) without causing much damage. Although the target was relatively low, KKR needed someone to provide impetus and anchor the innings, a job which Manish Pandey did brilliantly with his 33-ball 45. While he narrowly missed out on a fifty, he took KKR very close to the finishing line with just 30 runs needed to win from 30 balls when he got out.
ALSO READ:
KKR have been dented with multiple injury concerns even before the start of the season and the problems have continued well into the tournament as well. Last match against GT, Matheesha Pathirana played his first game but could bowl just 1.2 overs before being forced to leave the field due to injury.
Today, against MI, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was the latest name to be added to the injury list. He hurt his finger while wicketkeeping and had to be replaced by Tejasvi Dahiya as concussion substitute. Raghuvanshi later did not come out to bat also. With KKR facing a must-win clash next against Delhi Capitals (DC), KKR will only hope Angkrish Raghuvanshi is not seriously injured since he is their leading run-scorer in IPL 2026 with 422 runs in 13 games, averaging 42.20 with an impressive five fifties to his name.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
