TATA IPL 2024: Chakravarthy Hails KKR's Victory Over MI at Wankhede After 12 Years
Acknowledging his team's struggle despite Venkatesh Iyer's resilient 70, Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Varun Chakravarthy expressed that the 24-run triumph against Mumbai Indians held special significance, marking their first victory at Wankhede in 12 years.
Jasprit Bumrah (3-18) and Nuwan Thushara (3-42) claimed three wickets apiece at each end of the KKR innings as Mumbai Indians restricted them to a paltry 169 despite brilliant fighting 70 off 52 balls by Venkatesh Iyer, who raised 83 runs for the sixth wicket in the company of Manish Pandey, rescuing their team from a precarious 57/5 at one stage.
Chakravarthy praised Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey for pulling them to 169 which they eventually defended. "This is a very special win because we were down and out in the first innings. The way Venkatesh and Manish pulled it back was great", said Chakravarthy at the presentation ceremony.
Mitchell Starc was instrumental with figures of 4-33, clinching three wickets in just four balls during the 19th over to limit Mumbai's innings to 145. Earlier, spin duo Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy had set the stage by reducing Mumbai to 61/4, each claiming identical figures of 2-22. Suryakumar Yadav emerged as a lone fighter for Mumbai Indians, smashing a rapid 56 off 35 balls and stitching a crucial 49-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Tim David (24). However, Mumbai's hopes were dashed as Andre Russell (2-30) and Mitchell Starc combined to take the last five wickets.
"Extremely good feeling, because we haven't won at Wankhede for 12 years. It was just a matter of one wicket (when David was batting and had brought down the equation to 26 off 11 balls)", said Varun Chakravarthy. He mentioned that bowling in the second innings proved challenging due to the heavy dew, which made it hard to grip the ball. Additionally, he noted that the pitch had significantly improved, with less stopping and turning compared to when KKR was batting.
"There was dew, but somehow we controlled our emotions. Second innings there was not much help (for the spinners) because of the dew. The batters did tell that the ball was stopping and turning. But when I came on to bowl, I realised it wasn't stopping", he said. Chakravarthy called fellow spinner Sunil Narine "a legend" as both of them finished with identical figures of 2-22 off four overs, bowling in tandem to start Mumbai Indians' downfall.
