Mumbai, March 29 Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (67) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51) scored crucial half-centuries, but Kolkata Knight Riders posted a par score of 220 for 4 against Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League clash here on Sunday.
On a flat pitch, Shardul Thakur (3/39) provided crucial breakthroughs for Mumbai, as their bowlers struggled to make an impact in their debut outing. Both senior pacers Trent Boult (0/38) and Jasprit Bumrah (0/35) went wicketless, but the 18th and 20th overs bowled by India's pace spearheads prevented Kolkata from reaching 250.
Rahane began with a wristy flick over wide long-on, followed by a six off Boult in the first over. KKR gained momentum when Hardik Pandya (1/39) made errors with his line and length throughout the fourth over, conceding 26 runs.
The captain added two pick-up shots down the leg for consecutive sixes, while Finn Allen (37 off 17 balls) hit Pandya for a powerful four with a powerful shot, ending with a scoop past the 'keeper and short fine leg for a third boundary.
Prior to this, Allen had smashed two sixes and a four off debutant Allah Ghazanfar (0/51) to collect 17 runs in the third over.
Despite Thakur getting Finn out on his second ball, caught by Tilak Varma off an innocuous ball at long-on, KKR were in a happier position at 78/1 after the powerplay.
KKR crossed the 100-run mark in the eighth over, and Rahane looked set for a triple-figure score, scoring over 200.
However, Thakur's twin strikes in separate spells broke the momentum for the visitors, which also saw the new batters struggling to keep up.
Burly Cameron Green was forced to chase short and wide deliveries by Thakur in the ninth over, and on the second such ball, the Australian hit it straight to Sherfane Rutherford, who took a fine diving catch.
Then, in his third and 14th over of the innings, Thakur deceived Rahane with a slower cross-seam delivery outside the off, which the KKR captain hit inside out, only to be caught by his MI counterpart at cover with ease, despite moving some paces behind.
Rahane's 67 off 40 balls, studded with five sixes and three fours, once again showcased how much the veteran Indian batter has been putting into his batting for the white-ball format.
There was a delightful hit over bowler Mayank Markande's head for a six, while Ghazanfar was also hit over midwicket for another six, with Rahane getting down on his knee.
While Rahane started aggressively, Raghuvanshi was slow for a large part of his innings but recovered well to unleash a few big hits towards the end, which took him past the fifty mark.
Raghuvanshi also had some luck when, on 21, a lofted hit which presented a regulation catch at the rope, was dropped by Rohit Sharma off Ghazanfar in the 15th.
The KKR wicketkeeper-batter was eventually dismissed by Pandya in the penultimate over after a 29-ball 51 with six fours and two sixes.