IPL Pulse: Throwback to 2014

Good morning

You had to wonder if it really is 2026 because Manish Pandey and Sunil Narine took us all the way back to 2014. Irrespective of what the future holds for KKR this season, last night's win will be savoured because they don't often beat MI.

Here's Cricketlineguruji Pulse, your 2-minute scan of the IPL verse.

Last night in five lines

Hardik Pandya was back and that meant MI's captaincy roulette continued.

KKR's pace attack made merry to keep MI in check and even a rain break didn't help matters.

Sunil Narine stood tall with figures of 4-0-13-1 to keep MI to just 147/8.

Finn Allen and Cameron Green didn't fire in the chase.

But Manish Pandey returned to No.3 for KKR and aced the chase to win the POTM award.

Oh, that happened

There was a collision involving Varun Chakaravarthy and Angkrish Raghuvanshi during the MI innings. That collision ensured Varun went wicketless on a night KKR's bowlers made merry. It also meant KKR's promising batter this season, Raghuvanshi, had to leave the field due to a concussion. But eventually, it didn't matter for KKR. Varun still finished with a tidy spell and in the absence of Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey batted for the very first time this season and took charge of the chase on a not-so-easy surface to give them a crucial win that still keeps them in the playoffs hunt.

Pulse Awards

KKR get the predict-shunaward for shunning all predictions and springing an astonishing turnaround on the points table. Just under a month ago, they were bottom of the pile with no wins in six games. Now, they're level with PBKS (once on a winning streak) and still have a slim chance of making it to the playoffs.

Deepak Chahar gets the cheeky little chit award for seemingly jumping into the ongoing trend, only to dig into his pocket and pull out an invisible chit. Not every wicket needs a show of paper. Youngsters, take "notes".

Chahar and Robin Minz share the caught in a soupaward for making a meal of a chance to pouch Rovman Powell. Both lined up, both watched the ball thud to the ground, and just stared at each other, passing the blame to the other. Brought back memories of Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib's Malik's infamous drop-catch meme.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi will have to reluctantly take the self-sabotage award for getting himself concussed, ramming into Varun Chakaravarthy and messing up a catch. It led him to leave the ground later. But it also gave Tejasvi Dahiya a lucky break.

Talking point

Kartik Tyagi has had a memorable season. He was not expected to feature much had KKR not been crippled by injuries. While he made an impression in the IPL back in 2020, his career had tapered off before this season's revival where he is comfortably KKR's best pacer. He has made quite an impact especially during the middle phase of the innings and we got all the numbers here.

The chatter

"This was the only game I've actually batted." Manish Pandey really had to wait long to finally get an outing in the middle.

Again Manish Pandey. When asked about his fielding standards at 36, Pandey revealed that he spends "45 minutes on fielding every day relentlessly. Doesn't matter if it's raining or it's a sunny day."

"It's a typical Caribbean wicket where it holds in the wicket a little bit. So I guess I would understand how to bat on it." Rovman Powell had this to say after contributing a crucial 40 in the run chase.

Speaking on the wicket, Hardik Pandya was pleased to play on that surface. "Bowlers are feeling helpless. I think today's game kind of gave bowlers something as well from the wicket," he said after the game.

Stat snack

Last night was the first time Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Manish Pandey in the IPL. Only Shikhar Dhawan has faced more balls (66) than Pandey (49) before getting dismissed for the first time by Bumrah.

Gossip column

The recent verbal gaffe by a captain, dropping the F-bomb in the post-match chat, has sent ruffles within the IPL circles. The Fairplay committee is wondering if it falls under their gamut, with the incident occurring after the game and not during. There's been no sanctions as well, just plenty of reruns on social media.

Tonight's watchlist

It's Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings: two teams with very different aspirations. GT are qualified and looking to seal a top-two spot. CSK are struggling to sneak through, holding on to a slender chance to grab the fourth spot. Trust it to be a close affair.

One reckless prediction for tonight

MS Dhoni makes a wild, unexpected appearance in Ahmedabad, only to tell everyone that he hasn't decided on his future yet.