Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders (148/6 in 18.5 overs) beat Mumbai Indians (147/8 in 20 overs) by four wickets. KKR vs MI: Highlights | Scorecard

Manish Pandey rolled back the years to be the chase master for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they remained in the hunt for a place in the playoffs of IPL 2026. Pandey’s 45 off 33 balls ensured that KKR defeated Mumbai Indians by five wickets after a disciplined performance with the ball early on.

KKR put MI into bat, and it was an all-round effort from the bowlers and the fielders that ensured that the visitors were restricted to 147 runs in the first innings. While Kolkata had a shaky start on a tricky pitch at the Eden, Pandey and Rovman Powell’s 64-run stand off 47 balls ensured that the home team got over the finish line and got to 13 points.

For MI, this was their ninth loss of a terrible campaign that will raise questions about the mood within the Mumbai camp at the moment.

Power and placement combining brilliantly for @KKRiders

Glimpses of Rovman Powell and Manish Pandey’s match-defining stand of 64

Updates https://t.co/Aw11jLoww5#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvMI pic.twitter.com/J3VjAKO8WY— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 20, 2026

Swagoth nah karoge hamaara?

The famous dialogue of Chulbul Pandey from cult classic movie Dabangg seems to be apt for Pandey on the day. Rahane said during the post-match presentation that everyone in KKR is happy for Pandey and today he ensured that everyone went home happy.

Pandey has cult hero status in KKR folklore, as he was part of their core for a significant period during the Gautam Gambhir era at the franchise. During that time, he was often the man to get the chase down and on the tricky track in Kolkata, and that was exactly what he did. He doesn’t play any other form of cricket outside the IPL at the moment as he is out of the Karnataka side but shows no signs of it on the field.

While his batting mantra may look like a Nokia 5800 Express music phone in front of the big-hitting that are like your iPhone 17s of the modern era. But on a rain-hit day at the Eden, that is exactly what was needed.

The KKR innings was off to the ideal start, as Finn Allen got going in the first five balls. He hit two boundaries and ensured 10 came off the first over, but got a bit greedy as he went for another big shot and then chopped on to his off stump. It was enough for Deepak Chahar to bring out the imaginary note celebration.

KKR lost Angkrish Raghuvanshi to an injury in the first innings, and it meant he was taken off. This meant Manish Pandey came on to bat at No.3. KKR fans will fondly remember the Karnataka man playing a blinder during the 2014 IPL final and winning them the title.

But that was a good 12 years ago, and questions were always going to be about him doing something similar or anchoring the innings to safety.

He and Ajinkya Rahane steadied the ship with a 38-run stand, which included Pandey taking on Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar and hitting them for boundaries.

But it was Corbin Bosch who seemed to be the man with all the luck in Kolkata, dismissing Rahane in his first over. Soon after, he dismissed Cameron Green with a wayward delivery that was caught at the shorter boundary.

Bosch’s bowling got some stick, unfortunately, with Rovman Powell hitting him for a six and a boundary. The luck then went in favour of Powell, who skied a delivery that went up into the sky and landed in the middle of Chahar and Robin Minz.

#MI fielders in two minds

Rovman Powell survives

Updates https://t.co/Aw11jLoww5#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvMI pic.twitter.com/R3iLDNC9Iq— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 20, 2026

And this was the moment where Pandey took the onus on himself to see off the chase. He got two boundaries off Hardik to give momentum to the run chase.

Then both Pandey and Powell took down Raghu Sharma in the 13th over to get the required run-rate below six. There was one Bumrah over next lined up and this is when the MI pacer was finally able to dismiss Pandey for the first time in the IPL.

This was followed by a stunner from Bosch to dismiss Powell as MI felt they were in the contest. But Rinku and Tejasvi Singh, who came on as the concussion substitute in the end for Raghuvanshi, got them closer. Despite the wicket of Tejasvi, KKR held on to their nerves in the end, thanks to Rinku and who got the job done with a boundary.

They now need to beat Delhi Capitals and hope the rest of the results will go their way to make it to the play-offs.

“Definitely, definitely there is some issue. Definitely, the team’s mood was more lighter. The team suddenly looks more united overall.”

These were the words of Kris Srikkanth right after MI were able to defeat PBKS in Dharamsala.

That day it seemed like MI were playing with a different sort of energy, something that wasn’t seen during the initial phase of the tournament.

The batting looked liked it had more energy, the bowling seemed to be sharper and the intensity on the field looked high.

However, the moment Hardik came into the side, it seemed like a factory reset was hit on the team.

They were put into bat and the MI captain said the aim was not just to play for pride but to win. But the start was far from ideal for the visitors at the Eden Gardens.

In the third over from Cameron Green, they lost both Ryan Rickleton and Naman Dhir. The next over accounted for Rohit Sharma, who dazzled in Kolkata early on with a few stunning shots.

While the season hasn’t always gone KKR’s way, one thing they have excelled was in catching and the appointment of Dishant Yagnik needs to be applauded. He has made Kolkata the best catching side in IPL 2026 and the evidence of this was there during Green’s catch of Rohit.

Two towering chances, two perfect grabs

Manish Pandey and Cameron Green ice-cold in pressure moments

Updates https://t.co/Aw11jLoww5#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvMI | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/BB391Y3l88— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 20, 2026

The Aussie all-rounder ran a good 30 metres before taking the catch, much to the delight of Yagnik.

Suryakumar looked to counter the KKR momentum and was successful for a bit before Saurabh Dubey was able to make him play on to the stumps. A rain break meant that it was time for MI to regroup but the break did little to change the way they were playing.

This is when Sunil Narine came into the game and had the MI batters dancing to his tunes. Both Hardik and Tilak Varma were struggling to pick the West Indian spinner as he ensured that Kolkata have a vice grip on the contest.

Tilak was given an extra life due to a mix-up from Raghuvanshi and Varun Chakravarthy but he failed to capitalise as Kartik Tyagi dismissed him soon after.

Narine ended Hardik’s struggle at the crease with a sharp delivery that cleaned up the MI skipper for 26 off 27 balls. Will Jacks also got a big hit going but was left stranded by Bosch, courtesy of a terrible mix-up.

Bosch was able to redeem himself with a 32 off 18 balls to power MI to 147 in the end. But the lack of energy with Hardik in the team looked a little bit more evident. Yes, you could say that the pitch was two-paced and had a lot for the bowlers. But the way MI batters decided to be sedate really puts a question on if they’re happy playing under Hardik.

There were moments where it was just him looking to smack everything in the middle, while Tilak was dismissed for 20 off 32 balls. With the ball, it seemed like the energy from the night in Dharamsala was gone and replaced by drooping shoulders and a lack of plans.

The season is done, and MI have one more match to look forward to in the form of RR. But they have some big questions to answer ahead of IPL 2027.

Source: India Today