IPL 2022: KKR’s Boult, Cummins, Russell hit back as team win do-or-die after Bumrah’s five wicket burst

Kolkata Knight Riders endured a fiery five-wicket burst from Jasprit Bumrah that sent them plummeting from 123 for 2 to 165 for 9. They regrouped at the break and came back to blow away Mumbai Indians for 113 to stay alive in IPL 2022.
KKR start well
In a win-or-exit match, KKR had gone all out, as was to be expected from a side coached Brendon McCullum. They had made as many as five changes to their XI – their opening combination from the start of the season, Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer, was back, so were old hands Pat Cummins and Varun Chakaravarthy, and they’d sacrificed a seamer for an extra batsman; there was no doubt they would go as hard as they could, barring Rahane’s anchoring presence, as it turned out.
The approach had worked nicely too; they’d wanted to bat first, as Shreyas Iyer said at the toss, and Rohit Sharma had asked them to do just that. The side with the lowest scoring rate in the powerplay this IPL produced their best six-over return of 64 for 1. At a solid launching pad of 123 for 2 after 13 overs, KKR had good reason to eye a total in excess of 200.

That’s that from Match 56.@KKRiders take this home comfortably with a 52-run win over #MumbaiIndians
Scorecard – https://t.co/eXsU8yDmge #MIvKKR #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/3gu0ZsHYH6
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 9, 2022
When their captain fell caught-behind to a ripping leg-break from Murugan Ashwin first ball of the 14th, out jogged Andre Russell at No 5. KKR wanted their powerful allrounder to face many more deliveries than he ordinarily would. Russell scythed his first ball over extra cover for a couple, and sent the second one just over a jumping long-on’s reach. The gauntlet had been thrown down immediately.
Boom busts KKR
Rohit had used Bumrah for only one over until now, and brought him back for the danger man after Ashwin’s over. Bumrah had gone wicketless in seven out of ten previous games, but he was switched on alright for this one. His first delivery to Russell was a pinpoint yorker that had everything going for it, except that Russell managed to jam the bat down just in time. But the ball made Russell think. He stood deep in the crease for the next delivery, probably expecting another toe-stinger. Bumrah banged the ball halfway into the pitch instead, Russell still took it on, and long-on gobbled the top edge.
There was little suspense about what Nitish Rana, who’s almost always expecting the short ball from the pacers, was going to get. He tried to ride the bounce with much awkwardness and only gloved it behind.

It was Jasprit Bumrah who stole the show with the ball and is adjudged Player of the Match for his excellent bowling figures of 5/10 👏👏#TATAIPL #MIvKKR pic.twitter.com/ylhTsf95sr
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 9, 2022
Bumrah wasn’t to be done with a two-wicket over, though. He followed it up with a three-wicket maiden in the 18th, removing Sheldon Jackson, Cummins and Sunil Narine with short of a length deliveries that lost none of their venom when they reached the batsmen. An intense scream followed as he ran forward to take the catch of Narine, hopelessly pinned back in the crease. After a return of 5 for 9, there was enough fuel in his tank to allow only one single in the last over to a proper batsman Rinku Singh, who could get neither the yorkers nor the hard lengths away.
But KKR rise again
There are few sides that will be able to come back in a must-win T20 game after managing 7 for 42 in the last seven overs, on a surface where the ball is coming on. But there are several reasons why MI have been the first team to exit this IPL, and a flaky batting line-up is one of them.
For their part, KKR had little choice but to throw their best at MI at the start of the chase, and that is what they did – two overs each of Tim Southee and Cummins followed an over each of Russell and Narine in the powerplay. Southee sent back Rohit caught-behind superbly a diving Jackson in the first over with a somewhat strange noise-meter reading that relied on one spike amid a continuing stream of large spikes as ball passed bat. Russell delivered Tilak Varma’s scalp with a lifter and the spinners applied the squeeze on Ishan Kishan and Ramandeep Singh.

Three wickets in an over for @patcummins30 🔥🔥
Live – https://t.co/eXsU8yDmge #MIvKKR #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/9BQPHrHFKO
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 9, 2022
Tim David began with three successive fours to Russell but was rendered strokeless against spin, and Cummins landed the knockout punch in the 15th with three strikes, including Kishan, and all to the short delivery. MI’s challenge unravelled into three consecutive run-outs; the second was of Pollard – an unrecognisable shadow of himself this season with an average of 14.40 and a strike-rate of 107.46 – caught short going for a second run on the same ball that his top-edge had been dropped.
Fittingly, Rinku ran out Bumrah with a direct hit to end the game in the 18th over, and leapt straight into the advancing bowler Russell’s arms. KKR had had one foot out of the door at the innings break, but had thrillingly forced their way back in. Two more must-wins await, and even that might not be enough, but this comeback deserved the elated celebrations.