KKR conquer Fort Wankhede to end 12-year long win-drought

NEW DELHI: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan got a three-year ban from the stadium for getting embroiled in an argument with security staff, the last time Kolkata Knight Riders won a match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede before Friday.
And ending the 12-year drought after the infamous win, KKR finally breached Fort Wankhede — for the first time since 2012 — and put the hosts almost out of the reckoning of the playoffs race.
As the Knights successfully defended 169, the team came together to break the jinx at the venue, putting a smile of the faces of principal owner Shah Rukh and mentor Gautam Gambhir.
KKR’s bowling unit fired in unison to win a battle of attrition against five-time champions.
While the batters were guilty of not working out their game plan on the go in the first half to be bowled out for just 169 with Venkatesh Iyer contributing 70, Mumbai Indians’ underperforming batters stood no chance on a tricky wicket which demanded both application and patience. They were all-out for 145 in 18.5 overs with IPL‘s biggest buy ever Mitchell Starc (4/33) leading the way with his four-for.
As KKR registered their 7th win of the season, taking another big leap towards playoffs and pushing Mumbai out of the knock-outs contention, several record were broken and rewritten in the game between the two heavyweights.
* First win for KKR in 12 years at Wankhede – only previous win over MI at Wankhede came back in 2012, with Sunil Narine returning 4/15 from 3.1 overs in a 32-run win.
KKR vs MI at Wankhede
Matches: 11
Wins: 2
Defeats: 9
* The match was just the fourth instance in 33 head-to-head matches in which MI got bowled out against KKR.
* The game was also just the fourth in IPL where both teams got all-out
DC vs RR, Nagpur, 2010
KKR vs RCB, Kolkata, 2017
MI vs SRH, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2018
MI vs KKR, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2024
* MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah continued his IPL dominance with record-extending three-fer
23 – Jasprit Bumrah (131 innings)
20 – Yuzvendra Chahal (154 innings)
19 – Lasith Malinga (122 innings)
17 – Amit Mishra (162 innings)
* It was the fifth loss for MI while chasing this IPL season
Matches: 6
Won: 1 (vs RCB)
Lost: 5