One-sided rivalry: Five memorable Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders clashes

Both sides have faced each other 25 times in previous editions with MI coming out victorious 19 times
The Knight Riders do not have the best of records against the Mumbai team (Photo | PTI)
The Knight Riders do not have the best of records against the Mumbai team (Photo | PTI)

Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians are two of the most popular franchises of the IPL. The Knights, however, do not have the best of records against the Mumbai team. Both sides have faced each other 25 times in previous editions with MI coming out victorious 19 times. Here is a look at a few memorable contests between the two...

2008 IPL

There was a lot of anticipation regarding the contest as Sourav Ganguly would face off against Sachin Tendulkar with the who's who of Bollywood in attendance at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. However, Shaun Pollock ripped through the top order with KKR finishing with only 67. Shoaib Akhtar got Sachin for a duck but Sanath Jayasuriya made sure the home team got over the line with eight wickets to spare.

2015 IPL

Another match, another loss for KKR. However, this was a tight one which MI edged in the end. KKR bowlers started off strong, picking up wickets at regular intervals till the arrival of Hardik Pandya. The allrounder smashed 61 off only 31 balls to completely change the complexion of the match with MI ending up with a competitive 171. The away team started strongly with Yusuf Pathan hitting a few out of the park. But MI hung on in the end to clinch it by five runs.

2017 IPL

This time the same result was achieved at the Eden Gardens. MI batted first and Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu did most of the damage with Rayudu, in particular, hitting the bowlers all over the historic venue. Chasing 174, the hosts tried to build partnerships along the way but the run-rate kept increasing. At one point it seemed Yusuf Pathan and Colin de Grandhomme would take the Knights home with some powerful hitting but the MI bowlers stuck to their task and ended up winning the contest by nine runs.

2018 IPL

The same story unfolded in Mumbai with Hardik Pandya eventually ending up as the match-winner. MI had a blazing start with both openers — Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis — in rampaging form. They lost their way in the middle but managed to set a target just north of 180 thanks to Pandya's pyrotechnics. At one point during the chase, it seemed KKR would achieve the target with Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana playing some smart cricket. Pandya shone with the ball at the death as well and despite Dinesh Karthik's best efforts, KKR lost by 13 runs.

2019 IPL

The only match in the list to be won by the Purple and Gold outfit. In a high scoring contest, KKR hit 232 in the stipulated overs with Shubman Gill and Chris Lynn starting off strong. What followed was a brutal assault by Andre Russell who smashed 80 off 40 balls with no MI bowler being spared. It seemed like the hosts would win easily at one point but Hardik Pandya came on and smacked 91 off 34 balls which included nine sixes. At the end, it proved to be too tall an order as KKR clinched the match by 34 runs.

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