It was around 4 pm on Monday, and like the entire world, Mumbai too was celebrating Eid. It was a public holiday, and a quick stroll along Marine Drive would give one the sense that this iconic area in Mumbai was a hotspot for people enjoying the sunset and the evening breeze blowing from the Arabian Sea on their day off. Coincidentally, the Mumbai Indians, five-time IPL winners, were facing off against the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, at Wankhede Stadium. This particular clash has always been a highly anticipated encounter, given the star power both teams possess.
With one pan of the camera, many would suddenly start chanting “MI Jeetaga” (Mumbai Indians will win) or “KKR, KKR!” The stage was set. Cricket fans, after cheering at multiple public buses, finally welcomed both the KKR and MI team buses with loud cheers, and those with tickets steadily queued up in front of their respective entry gates. It was the first home game for MI, with the Hardik Pandya-led outfit returning to their base on the back of consecutive defeats, while KKR were fresh off a resounding win against Rajasthan Royals.
For KKR, playing against MI has been a challenge. Yes, they managed a league double over them last season, also ending a 12-year drought of not winning at Wankhede Stadium. KKR fans were confident of repeating the feat, while MI fans were hopeful that their beloved team would turn things around at home. The build-up to the game was electric, and the capacity crowd welcomed both teams with high enthusiasm. This time, there was no booing for any of the MI players as the fans rallied behind their team during warm-ups.
After opting to field first, MI bowlers decimated the KKR batting unit. They tore through the lineup, with rookie pacer Ashwani Kumar, making his IPL debut, scripting history by becoming the first player to claim a four-wicket haul on his maiden IPL appearance. He struck with his very first delivery, dismissing local boy and KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane. Before that, both KKR openers, Sunil Narine (0) and Quinton de Kock (1), were already back in the dugout after a fiery opening spell by Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult, with the new ball moving around. The KKR batting unit painted a sorry picture.
Youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi tried to contribute, scoring 26 off 16—the highest by any KKR batter that day—but apart from him and Ramandeep Singh (22), none of the big names rose to the occasion. Whether it was KKR’s INR 23.75 crore buy Venkatesh Iyer (3), their highest-paid retention Rinku Singh (17), or swashbuckling all-rounder Andre Russell (5 off 11), the Kolkata outfit surrendered meekly before a charged-up MI. A forced impact substitute, Manish Pandey (19), also couldn’t make a significant impact with the bat as the team folded for 116 in 16.2 overs.
Mumbai Indians chased down the total with ease in 12.5 overs, with opener Ryan Rickleton cracking an unbeaten 62 off 41 balls in his first game at Wankhede Stadium. With only 116 runs to defend, the KKR bowlers showed no fightback; with each boundary, their shoulders dropped further. Perhaps the build-up to the game lasted longer than the match itself. Last season, at Wankhede Stadium, KKR found themselves in a similar situation, at 70/5 while batting first, but managed to post 169 and win the game.
Though the bowlers didn’t have a lot to defend, they also looked toothless despite the Wankhede track providing a lot of assistance for pacers and a bit for spinners as well. Harshit Rana, KKR’s star last season, has looked a bit flat. Varun Chakaravarthy has blown hot and cold. Sunil Narine has been taken to the cleaners and Spencer Johnson is proving to be expensive with the ball. Will the KKR think tank find a solution soon?
“Collective batting failure, it was a good wicket to bat on. 180-190 would have been a good total on this pitch,” KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane told the broadcaster after the match. “We expect that (here), it has good bounce. When you are fighting against the bounce, that is what we did, you have to use it sometimes – we have to learn really fast. Bowlers were trying their best but not much runs on the board. We kept on losing wickets – four in the powerplay and after that, it was difficult to consolidate. You need one batter to bat through and stay till the end but that did not happen.”
For KKR, is it the Gautam Gambhir factor that’s missing this time? Yes, Chandrakant Pandit was the head coach last season, with Gambhir as mentor, but he was also there in 2023—without Gambhir—when KKR finished seventh in the points table, winning just six of their 14 league matches.
With Gambhir, the KKR players had that X-factor on the field, the will to fight and win for the badge—something that has been absent this season, though it is still the early stages of IPL. It’s no secret who was calling the shots when KKR won the title last time: it was Gambhir. Pandit, to his credit, has been a legendary coach in the Indian domestic circuit, guiding teams like Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh to Ranji Trophy victories. But can Pandit, with his strict and old-school coaching methods, turn things around?
For Rahane as well, who went unsold in the first round of the IPL 2025 auction before getting picked by KKR for his base price, it will be crucial for him to turn things around with the bat and leadership skills. After scoring a half-century in the season opener, Rahane fell flat in the last couple of games, scoring 18 and 11 respectively.
When he was appointed as KKR skipper, many questioned whether Rahane merits a place in KKR’s playing XI considering a stacked batting order let alone being handed the responsibility to lead. Rahane the captain has done remarkably well for Mumbai and India in the past.
However, even his domestic side, Mumbai, had appointed Shreyas Iyer as the captain for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy which they won with Rahane being the leading run-getter in the tournament. Was that a move backed simply by reputation? If Rahane doesn’t score consistent runs, pressure will be on him to save his place in the XI. Seldom do we see someone named as captain after getting unsold in the first round of IPL auction but KKR took a punt. Right or wrong, KKR will have an answer pretty soon.