MI Enters into the Top Four with massive 102-run win against KKR

Mumbai Indians continued their impeccable record against the Kolkata Knight Riders and their comebacks in the month of May with a huge 102-run win.

Ishan Kishan, MoM: Had a chat with my skipper, he told me to go there and back myself. My plan was to look at the ball till the last moment and keep smacking. Have to believe in yourself, your strengths. Win was important for us, point was to stay there, back yourself and put up a good show. I’m okay with batting anywhere depending on the team situation.

Rohit, MI captain: As a team we tend to pick up during the month of May. Hope we do it sooner. Never easy to be on the line all the time and be desperate for wins towards the second half. Would like to start the tournament on a high. But in the past three years, we’ve been at the bottom of the table. I’m glad we came together and performed as a team today. Without a doubt, the way Ishan Kishan batted fearlessly, that was the changing point. I was assessing the pitch at that point, ball was sticking in the pitch, it wasn’t easy, but he changed the game. We were 65 after first ten overs, but scoring 145 in last ten overs is a magnificent effort by all the batters. Ben Cutting as well, he hasn’t been getting much opportunity as well, it’s not easy to come out and play shots like that. We as a team are prepared to post a total or chase down what is put in front of us. Can’t do much with the toss. Have to come out here and play good cricket. Last few games, the team has come together and taken responsibility.

Karthik, KKR captain: 200 is always a big ask. We didn’t bat well enough. If we had held on to our catches, you never know. It was a good batting wicket. When you lose wickets in the powerplay, you are always playing catch up. We weren’t in the game after the powerplay. We just took it as a normal game. Chin up for the boys and keep moving forward. We need to raise our skill levels and that is the most important thing. This kind of losses can put you down and that is where I as a leader need to stand up. Be honest about it. We need to believe and I have to make them believe we can make it to the playoffs.