Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders: We panicked a little towards the end, says Gautam Gambhir

New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a four-wicket defeat against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as a result of some sloppy fielding in the death overs on Sunday. KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, who went out of the field in the last few overs, could do nothing from the bench as team-mates committed one error after the other.

Mumbai needed 11 runs off the last six balls, but Suryakumar Yadav conceded three extra runs off the second ball as a result of a misfield at long-on.

One ball later, Rishi Dhawan dropped an easy catch at deep square leg, much to the dismay of his team-mates.

After the match, losing skipper Gautam Gambhir lauded Nitin Rana and Hardik Pandya’s knock and confessed that KKR panicked towards the end.

“We put a good score on the board in the last three overs. But Hardik and Rana played unbelievable innings. If we’d taken Hardik’s catch, anything might have happened.

“We back our bowlers to do the job. It’s just a matter of keeping our nerves calm. We panicked a little in the end with the misfield and the dropped catch (cost us). It’s a good chasing ground – you could chase anything.

“There was a bit of dew on the ground that didn’t make it easy for spinners either, but we needed to hold our nerves in the end,” said Gambhir.

When Mumbai Indians lost the big wicket of Kieron Pollard off the first ball of the 17th over, many thought it was the match. With 60 runs required off the last 24 balls, the hosts needed the big-hitting West Indian to bat till the end.

But Rana and Pandya stunned the opposition with some lusty blows towards the end. The duo virtually turned the match on its head with a blitz 41 run partnership of only 14 balls for the sixth wicket.

Mumbai Indians registered a four-wicket win with only one ball left in the pulsating game at the Wankhede stadium.