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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Shreyas Iyer labelled impact player rule as the factor that "certainly" helped them take a step closer to the playoffs of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season following their 24-run over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
KKR were down and stood on the brink of facing defeat after a spirited performance from the MI bowlers reduced them to 57-5. Out of desperation, KKR decided to reduce their bowling options and brought in Manish Pandey in place of all-rounder Ramandeep Singh. The seasoned batter used his experience to pull KKR out of their woes and forged an 83-run stand with Venkatesh Iyer. The single decision from KKR management changed the complexion of the entire game as they put up a fighting score of 169 on the board. Manish struck 42 off 31 deliveries, which were laced evenly with two fours and two towering sixes. "Certainly, with this impact player rule, it has helped us in this game. Manish has been eyeing an opportunity since Day 1. Today, he got it. We got to a commendable total. All I had to say to the boys was we can defend it with our bowling lineup. They were unreal to be honest (on the two spinners). Shreyas appreciated the spinners and said they were unreal and spot on with their lines and lengths, adding that they executed their plans to perfection. "Just having a conversation with Starcy. I told him how important this game for us. If we lost this, would've had to win two out of four. Would take this anyday. Beautiful victory for us. Hope we could've cherished this one. But we have a match day after as well. Absolutely spot on in terms of execution with line and lengths. He's been eagerly waiting to go out and express himself in earlier games as well (on Venkatesh Iyer)," he added. Coming to the match, put to bat first, a solid partnership stand of 83 runs between Venkatesh Iyer (70 off 52) and Manish Pandey (42 off 31) guided KKR to 169. For MI, Jasprit Bumrah returned with a double-wicket over before returning with a spell of 3 for 18 in 3.5 overs. In reply, MI were bundled out for 145. Starc made a terrific comeback in the tournament returning with a figure of 4-33 in just 3.5 spells, handing KKR a 24-run victory. Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine both finished with identical figures of 2/22, including some big wickets in the first half of the chase which put KKR on top in the match. (ANI)
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