It was a day of bat dominating the ball and Hardik Pandya’s 91 in the chase was not enough to help Mumbai Indians as Andre Russell’s unbeaten 80 set up Kolkata Knight Riders 34-run win.
Forget everything and anything that you have seen in #IPL2019 so far. This season belongs to two players only— Hardik Pandya and Andre Russell!Champion stuff! Unbelievable!#KKRvMI #IPL2019
— Prasenjit Dey 📰 (@CricPrasen) April 28, 2019
Hardik Pandya looks more tenacious & trenchant after the Koffee With Karan fiasco. Seems like he has turned over a new leaf. Always had enormous ability but has now gained acumen to harness it effectively! Stunning innings. His form augurs well for World Cup #IPL2019 #KKRvsMI — Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) April 28, 2019
Teams with 100-plus T20 wins:Mumbai IndiansChennai Super KingsLancashireNottinghamshireWarwickshireKolkata Knight Riders*#KKRvMI
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) April 28, 2019
Welcome back, @KKRiders! Tonight was something special. Dominated throughout the game. #KKRvMI — Sohini (@Mittermaniac) April 28, 2019
Kolkata Knight Riders today:- > 100th victory in the Twenty20 format- > Ended their 6-match losing streak- > Ended their 4-match losing streak at Eden Gardens- > Ended their 8-match losing streak against MI#IPL2019 #KKRvMI
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) April 28, 2019
Earlier, Chris Lynn scored his fifty IPL fifty against Mumbai Indians and gave his side a blazing start.
The kind of start #kkr needed in the most crucial game — Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 28, 2019
Where was this Lynn in the last 11 games? Excellent innings! The kind of destruction we are accustomed to see him causing! #IPL2019 #KKRvMI— Prasenjit Dey 📰 (@CricPrasen) April 28, 2019
Nice to see the old Lynn again!! #KKRvMI — Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) April 28, 2019
Lynn got good support from Shubman Gill who brought up his third IPL fifty.
Well played Shubman Gill. Second fifty of #ViviIpl2019. I am not saying whether @KKRiders are going to win or not. But I am a fan of him opening in this format. Give him a chance long term and see how he goes.— ian bishop (@irbishi) April 28, 2019
Have we spoken enough about @RealShubmanGill? He is one batsman I want to see play tests for India. Bat hours and hours together. Sometimes days and days together. Like Dravid and Laxman did. He is so classical, so good. When will he play for the national team? #IPL2019 pic.twitter.com/c6K5RIgSkn — Sohini (@Mittermaniac) April 28, 2019
High-quality cricket by both the teams. Aggressive approach by both the captains. Easily the favourite match of the tournament so far. #KKRvMI— Sagar (@sagarcasm) April 28, 2019
It was the Andre Russell show once again as he carted 80* runs in 40 balls to power Kolkata to 232.
What a batting performance for the #KKR faithful who have come out to the ground despite such poor performances over the last fortnight. Knight Riders finish their final batting innings at Eden Gardens for #IPL2019 with 232 - the highest score of the season.#KKRvMI — Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) April 28, 2019
And they said that his game is only suited for lower order because he’s a slogger. RIP, their cricketing senses!#AndreRussell #DreRuss #IPL2019 #KKRvMI— Suvajit Mustafi (Rivu) (@RibsGully) April 28, 2019
One-legged flat six off Bumrah and then a searing bouncer that grounds Russell. Best two-ball phase of the IPL season. Top, top cricket. #KKRvMI — Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) April 28, 2019
Dre Russ! He is changing the grammar of T20 cricket. The Cosmos Boss. Manbeast. You name him. Oh, absolutely, ridiculous! You just can’t do this- Andre Russell. #KKRvMI— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) April 28, 2019
Just curious: what does Andre Russell eat before he comes out to bat?#KKRvMI#IPL2019 — Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) April 28, 2019
I’ve said it before, these West Indian players like Russell, Pollard, Bravo are better than being last 5 overs batsmen. They just need to be trusted, and to trust themselves. Kudos to @KKRiders for giving Dre Riss the opportunity tonight.— ian bishop (@irbishi) April 28, 2019
Carnage is too ordinary. We need a new term for what Andre Russell does at the crease! #IPL2019 #KKRvMI — Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) April 28, 2019
Massive total put up thanks to some fantastic batting by @RealShubmanGill, @lynny50 and @Russell12A. However, with a beautiful surface to bat on and a lightning quick outfield, this could turn out to be a very close game. What do you think guys? 😊 #KKRvMI— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) April 28, 2019
In the chase, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and never got going with their batting until Hardik Pandya came out to bat to give them a glimmer of hope. Pandya hit 91 runs in just 34 balls but was left with too much to do.
Hardik at its form of the life, never seen this kind of consistency. — Johns (@CricCrazyJohns) April 28, 2019
Hardik Pandya completed 2000 runs and 100 wickets in the Twenty20 format today. 2nd Indian with this double after Ravindra Jadeja. #IPL2019 #KKRvMI— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) April 28, 2019
Fastest fifties for MI in IPL: (By balls) 17 - Ishan Kishan v KKR, Kolkata, 2018 17 - Kieron Pollard v KKR, Mumbai, 2016 17 - HARDIK PANDYA v KKR, Kolkata, 2019*#KKRvsMI — Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) April 28, 2019
Fastest 50 of the season - @hardikpandya7 🙏🏼— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) April 28, 2019
Surviving that one ball from Gurney would have helped him but no. That said, what a smash from #HardikPandya. One of the best innings of the year, and we only hope he retains this mental hitting state for the World Cup. — Sidhu (@sidhuwrites) April 28, 2019
Outstanding hitting @hardikpandya7 class 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 28, 2019
Before this match, the most deliveries Hardik faced in an innings in this IPL: 19. Today he faced 15 more balls and smashed 91. The joke here is that he walks in at No.6 — Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) April 28, 2019
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