Umesh Yadav is having a fantastic IPL season for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Following noteworthy efforts, particularly with the new ball, in the first two matches, the veteran right-arm seamer set an IPL record against the Punjab Kings on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Umesh overtook Sunil Narine, Lasith Malinga, and Dwayne Bravo to become the IPL bowler with the most wickets against an opponent.
Umesh got four wickets against PBKS in the IPL, bringing his total to 33, the greatest by a bowler against a single opponent in the cash-rich competition.
Most wickets vs an opponent in IPL
33 Umesh vs PBKS
32 Narine vs PBKS
31 Malinga vs CSK
31 Bravo vs MI
30 Amit Mishra vs RR
Umesh struck again early in the game, eliminating opposing skipper Mayank Agarwal, who was caught in front after missing a pretty straight and full ball in the first over of the game.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa (31 off 9) of Sri Lanka, who had a match-winning innings in the previous game, looked in superb form at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
During his brief stint in the middle, the top-order batter smashed three fours and as many sixes, largely towards the mid-wicket region, stunning the onlookers. His spectacular performance was possibly the lone bright spot in an otherwise lacklustre inning.
Iyer impressed with his leadership. He called Umesh back in the middle overs to ensure there was no resistance from Punjab. In the 15th over, he also used a slip and was rewarded with the wicket of Rahul Chahar.
His new partner Tim Southee, as well as KKR’s retained spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, were all too good for the Punjab hitters.
Liam Livingstone (19 off 16) was able to convert his start, while India U-19 standout Raj Angad Bawa struggled for the second game in a row.
Kagisa Rabada (25 off 16), in his debut game of the season, rescued Punjab’s blushes by hitting crucial boundaries to bring the total close to 140.
The chase was anticipated to be simple, but Rahul Chahar increased Punjab’s hopes with a twin wicket maiden that reduced KKR to 51 for four.
Russell (70 not out off 31 balls) came out in the middle and altered the game with an eight-sixes blitz, making it a cakewalk in just 14.3 overs. In an over that yielded 30 runs, he hammered three sixes off Odean Smith!
