Manish Pandey and Rovman Powell forged a vital stand that helped KKR successfully pursue 148 runs against MI in an exciting IPL 2026 encounter at Eden Gardens. Pandey, making his season debut, led the scoring with 45 runs from 33 deliveries, building a 64-run fourth-wicket alliance with Powell, who contributed 40 from 30 balls. Corbin Bosch emerged as MI’s most effective bowler, claiming 3/30. Previously, KKR’s bowling attack made excellent use of the slow pitch conditions, restricting MI to a manageable 147 for eight. Choosing to bowl first beneath cloudy skies on a challenging Eden Gardens surface that had stayed covered, KKR dismantled MI to 41/4 within the powerplay as Cameron Green (2/23 in three overs) and left-arm quick Saurabh Dubey (2/34) claimed two wickets each early on. Green delivered outstanding performances both in the field and with ball in hand, taking two wickets within three balls to dismiss Ryan Rickelton (6) and Naman Dhir (0). KKR Fights Hard to Maintain Playoff Position.
TOSS-
Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bowl first.
PLAYING XI –
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI):
Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Raghu Sharma
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI):
Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey
MUMBAI INDIANS-
After electing to bowl, KKR started with disciplined bowling as Saurabh Dubey found good lengths and created movement. Cameron Green faced an early six from Rohit Sharma but the Australian forced a top-edge from Ryan Rickelton, with Pandey covering significant ground to his left from point to take a superb catch. Green struck immediately again when Naman Dhir reached for one outside off stump, with the initial decision reversed through a successful DRS review by the bowling side.
Rohit crouched low to lap Dubey for six over fine leg, appearing ready to continue his special relationship with Eden Gardens. However, he mistimed a slower delivery straight to Green, who pouched an excellent catch at mid-wicket. Suryakumar Yadav started with two beautiful boundaries off Green before executing his trademark scoop over fine leg. Yet Dubey responded, switching to around the wicket and forcing Suryakumar to drag onto his stumps, giving MI their fourth powerplay wicket. Hardik Pandya swung wildly at his first delivery and missed completely, then managed a fortunate boundary from his second attempt.
KKR avoided using their spin duo or in-form Kartik Tyagi during the powerplay. When Sunil Narine entered the attack, Tilak Varma found himself completely restricted. A brief rain delay halted play for an hour, but upon restart, Narine troubled Tilak on both edges while Varun Chakaravarthy also kept the left-hander and Pandya subdued on a spin-friendly surface. Tilak’s dismissal seemed inevitable, and he eventually miscued one, though Angkrish Raghuvanshi interfered with Chakaravarthy’s path to the ball, causing the bowler to drop a diving attempt. Tilak finally struck his first six off his 25th delivery – the longest wait for a first boundary this season – but his painful 32-ball 20 ended when Tyagi struck. Pandya struggled against Green with multiple misses before a sharp Narine off-break bowled him, reducing MI to 95/6.
Will Jacks began promisingly before falling to a run-out when sent back attempting a second run. However, valuable runs emerged late in the innings as Deepak Chahar cut two poorly bowled wide yorkers from Dubey to the boundary, then Corbin Bosch joined the action. The South African smashed two loose deliveries from Tyagi in the final over before top-edging a hook that deflected off his helmet to the fine leg fence. Chahar departed on the innings’ final ball, but those crucial late contributions lifted MI to a defendable total on the difficult pitch.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS-
Finn Allen attacked Chahar early with two boundaries, capitalizing on available width. However, Chahar recovered when Allen played a similar delivery onto his stumps. Manish Pandey entered at number three due to Raghuvanshi’s injury, with substitute Tejasvi Dahiya taking the gloves. Making his first appearance this season, Pandey faced Jasprit Bumrah’s challenging swing bowling without success initially. Ajinkya Rahane encountered similar difficulties as conditions clearly favored movement through the air and off the pitch, with Chahar appearing nearly unplayable in his second spell. The experienced pair relied on precise timing and placement to collect three boundaries off Bumrah in the fourth over. After settling in, runs flowed more freely until Bosch removed Rahane in the final powerplay over as the KKR captain attempted to guide through the off-side but edged behind.
AM Ghazanfar troubled Green and beat his outside edge, confirming the pitch remained challenging in the second innings – further proven by Raghu Sharma’s later turn. Green gifted Bosch a second wicket by finding deep fine leg, though Rovman Powell announced himself with a first-ball six. Pandya adopted aggressive field settings, positioning fielders at short leg or silly point during Ghazanfar’s spells. He introduced himself next over and nearly dismissed Powell, who mishit one behind square. Unfortunately, Chahar and substitute Robin Minz both hesitated, allowing the ball to fall between them.
Powell immediately followed with consecutive boundaries off Pandey, with more runs coming from Raghu in the 13th over. Powell struggled for fluency and received another reprieve when a thick edge flew left of Bosch, who lost sight of the ball at slip. Nevertheless, he battled through as the 64-run partnership with Pandey secured the chase.
Following a quiet Pandya over, Bumrah cleaned up Pandey for only his fourth wicket this season. Soon after, Bosch took a spectacular catch at backward point to remove Powell. Dahiya then made his debut as concussion substitute for Raghuvanshi, opening his account with a boundary before Rinku Singh did likewise. MI created further chances as Rickelton sprinted deep into the fine leg area to complete a remarkable catch, dismissing Dahiya for 10. But Rinku stayed unbeaten for his fifth consecutive innings, finishing the job with a straight boundary as KKR claimed their sixth victory of the season.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians 147/8 in 20 overs [Corbin Bosch 32* (18); Cameron Green 2-23, Saurabh Dubey 2-34, Sunil Narine 1-13] lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 148/6 in 18.5 overs [Manish Pandey 45 (33), Rovman Powell 40 (30); Corbin Bosch 3-30, AM Ghazanfar 1-25] by 4 wickets.
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