Mumbai Indians were struggling to get going against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022. The sensational bowling by Umesh Yadav kept the five-time champions under pressure, and with 3 wickets down on a score of 55, MI were scoring at a run rate of just above 5.
Umesh would have added a second wicket had Ajinkya Rahane not messed up Tilak Varma’s catch. Sam Billings, the wicket-keeper, would have caught the ball easily, but Rahane’s unwanted try gave a lifeline to Tilak, which proved costly for the two-time champions.
He combined with Suryakumar Yadav, and the two added 83 important runs to take MI to a strong position. While SKY amassed 52 off 36 balls, Varma remained unbeaten on 38 off 27 balls.
Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh feels had Rahane taken the catch of Tilak, things would have been different. Umesh would have added a few more wickets because of his momentum during the game.
“Ajinkya Rahane made a mess of the catch. He should have allowed Sam Billings to complete the catch. Just because of this big mistake, Mumbai went on to score 161/4. KKR would have easily restricted MI to 120 had Umesh got that wicket,” said Harbhajan Singh.
