KL Rahul crafted his second century of the Indian Premier League season against the winless Mumbai Indians as Lucknow Super Giants recorded a 36-run victory on Sunday.

Lucknow captain Rahul finished unbeaten on 103 off 62 balls, reaching three figures with a six off Riley Meredith (2-40), but Manish Pandey (22) was the only other batter to pass 20 in support of his skipper.

Kieron Pollard collected two dismissals for eight runs as the Super Giants posted 168-6 at the Wankhede Stadium, though Mumbai's hopes for their first win of the season diminished after losing regular wickets.

Ishan Kishan (eight) fell in bizarre fashion as he edged onto wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock's foot and into the hands of Jason Holder at slip, before Dewald Brevis (three) followed to Mohsin Khan (1-27).

Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma offered brief impetus with 39 from 31 balls, but he was removed by Krunal Pandya (3-19) before Suryakumar Yadav (seven) was dismissed by Ayush Badoni (1-6) to leave Mumbai 67-4.

Pollard and Tilak Varma posed a late threat to Lucknow with a 57-run partnership, with the latter scoring a quick 38 before holing out to Holder (1-36).

Pandya then dismissed Pollard (19) and Daniel Sams (three) in the final over, either side of Holder running out Jaydev Unadkat (one), as Super Giants eased to their third straight win to move up to fourth.

Captain fantastic

Rahul powered a brisk 56-ball century against Mumbai earlier in the month and again played with remarkable control for his 103, which included 12 fours and four sixes.

Only Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler has scored more runs in this season's competition (491) than the Lucknow captain, who has 368 from his eight matches so far.

Classy Chameera thwarts Mumbai

Mumbai became the first side to lose their first seven games of an IPL campaign after falling to Chennai Super Kings on Thursday, but may have fancied their chances after being set 169 to win at Wankhede.

However, Rahul's bowlers kept things tight and controlled the second innings, with Pandya capably supported by Dushmantha Chameera, who went for just 14 runs from his four overs, including 15 dot balls.

MS Dhoni was the final-over hero as Chennai Super Kings kept Mumbai Indians waiting for a first Indian Premier League win with a dramatic three-wicket victory.

CSK needed 17 off the last over from Jaydev Unadkat in the battle of the bottom two to win only their second match and Dhoni delivered, hitting the four he needed off the last ball to leave the Indians shellshocked.

Mukesh Choudhary (3-19) dismissed Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan for first-over ducks after Mumbai were put in by Ravindra Jadeja at a raucous DY Patil Stadium on Thursday, but they recovered to 155-7.

Teenager Tilak Varma top scored with 51 not out off 43 balls, while Suryakumar Yadav (32) and debutant Hrithik Shokeen (25) also chipped in.

CSK dropped four catches, including Varma being given a life by Dwayne Bravo when he had scored only two, in a sloppy display in the field following such a great start.

All-rounder Bravo took 2-36 before Unadkat added a brisk unbeaten 19 and Daniel Sams dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad with the first ball of the run chase.

Sams (4-30) also saw the back of Mitchell Santner, Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu, with Mumbai favourites when Chennai were 106-6 in the 16th over following Jadeja's departure for only three.

Dwaine Pretorius made 22 and the ice-cool Dhoni stepped up when CSK needed him, making 28 not out off 13 balls to leave the Indians rooted to the bottom of the table after losing all seven games.

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Choudhary gives CSK dream start

Left-arm seamer Choudhary rocked Mumbai by removing both openers in the first over, with Rohit taken by Santner at mid-on off the second ball and Kishan losing his off stump.

Dewald Brevis became Choudhary's third victim off the final ball of the third over, reducing the Indians to 32-3.

CSK's fielding did not match the standard of their early bowling, captain Jadeja guilty of two of their dropped catches as they let Mumbai off the hook to an extent.

Dhoni still leading by example

He may have handed the captaincy over to Jadeja, but Dhoni showed he will always be a leader as he steered the holders home.

They needed 28 off two overs and 16 from deliveries after Unadkat trapped Pretorius leg before. 

Step forward the 40-year-old Dhoni, who clattered the left-armer for a straight six and struck the next ball for four, then scampered through for two before dispatching the last delivery into the leg side for a match-winning boundary.

KL Rahul knocked a freewheeling century to steer Lucknow Super Giants to an 18-run victory as they inflicted a sixth defeat of the season upon Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

The Super Giants captain muscled 103 not out off 60 balls to guide his side to an unassailable 199-4 on Saturday.

Suryakumar Yadav mustered a side-best 37 for the Indians in response, but their spirited attempts to deliver a first win of the campaign fell short.

Rahul had showcased some typical virtuosity over the past few weeks with the Super Giants, including a patient 68 in victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

But his effort here was of the more explosively entertaining kind, with the tone set by a fifth-over frenzy off Tyrone Mills and capped with an exquisite six.

Able support from Quinton de Kock (24) and Manish Pandey (38) helped drive the Indians, despite Jaydev Unadkat's 2-32 bowling figures.

Any hopes of a response from the Indians looked in jeopardy when they were reduced to 57-3, before Yadav and Tilak Varma mounted a sturdy 64-run fourth-wicket partnership.

Kieron Pollard and Unadkat combined to leave the hosts needing an ambitious 26 off the last over, but three wickets in those final six balls ended any hopes.

Rahul delivers captain's knock

Taking to the crease for the first ball alongside wicketkeeper De Kock, the India star turned in a contender for the performance of the tournament to date with his assured strokes.

With nine fours and five sixes, the opening batsman led from the front, with an impressive strike rate of 171.66, while Avesh Khan led the way with the ball, taking 3-30.

Luckless Indians continue barren run

It has been six games and six losses across the start of the 2022 campaign now for Mumbai, and their hopes of making the playoffs truly look to be in tatters.

On the back of Wednesday's loss to Punjab Kings, it is the second game in a row where their margin of defeat has clocked in under the 20-run mark, but it is still a painful streak they are yet to buck.

Mumbai Indians' winless start to the Indian Premier League season continued, as an exceptional display from Punjab Kings' top order was enough to hold off the five-time champions

Half-centuries from Mayank Argarwal (52) and Shikhar Dhawan (70) established a commanding lead for the Kings, which Mumbai always looked unlikely to reach once Rohit Sharma went for 28. 

Dewald Brevis (49) and Suryakumar Yadav (43) both looked to spearhead an unlikely revival for Mumbai, but fell narrowly short of half-centuries as they suffered a fifth consecutive loss.

Mumbai elected to put the Kings into bat when winning the toss, but Agarwal and Dhawan struck up an excellent partnership as the Mumbai attack struggled to make headway early on.

The Kings reached 97 before Argarwal was caught by Yadav, before Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone were bowled out for 12 and two runs respectively. 

Dangerman Dhawan was finally caught by Keiron Pollard after joining Argarwal in hitting a half-century, after which a decent showing from Jitesh Sharma (30) and a mammoth haul of 28 runs in the 17th over carried the Kings to 198.

Mumbai skipper Rohit was tasked with leading the response with the bat, but their hopes of avoiding another defeat looked slim once he fell for 28, particularly once partner Ishan Kishan went for just three runs shortly after.

Brevis and Tilak Varma subsequently sought to lead a stunning response, with the former smashing four consecutive sixes in a spectacular eighth over before falling to Odean Smith when one run short of his own century.

Tilak was run out by Argarwal soon after, before Pollard suffered a calamitous run-out for just 10 at the hands of Smith as Mumbai's hopes faded.

Yadav looked to lead once last attack for the batting side, but fell for 43 in a thrilling 19th over as the Kings held on for a third victory in five IPL outings, Smith posting three wickets in a comfortable final over.

Kings duo star with the bat

Half-centuries from the Kings' top-order batsmen set them on their way to victory, with Argarwal reaching 52 and Dhawan 70 in an outstanding display, setting a target which proved beyond Mumbai after their own top-order fell in quick fashion.

Stunning finish sees Smith rack up the wickets

Smith, meanwhile, finished with a brilliant four wickets from 30 balls for the victors after accounting for the last three dismissals of the match, as Mumbai collapsed after Yadav fell in the 19th.

Mumbai Indians plummeted to a fourth successive defeat as Royal Challengers Bangalore powered home with seven wickets in hand against the five-time Indian Premier League champions. 

A first IPL half-century for Anuj Rawat, who was run out for 66, helped RCB make light work of chasing Mumbai's 151-6 in Pune. Mumbai had been 79-6 but Suryakumar Yadav clubbed 68 from 37 balls to make it a contest. 

Virat Kohli was unhappy to be given out lbw for 48 in the closing moments of the match, but his disappointment was nothing like the dismay the Indians will be feeling as they await a first win of the campaign. 

Glenn Maxwell finished the match with successive fours as victory was secured with nine balls to spare, RCB reaching 152-3. 

Mumbai began brightly enough as Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma put on 50 for the first wicket. But once Rohit fell for 26, caught and bowled by Harshal Patel, a hapless collapse followed. Dewald Brevis made eight, but he went with the score on 60, and it was soon 62-5 as Kishan (26), Tilak Varma (0) and Kieron Pollard (0) headed back to the dressing room. 

When Ramandeep Singh was caught behind off Harshal by Dinesh Karthik, Mumbai were 79-6 and looking like being humiliated, but the in-form Yadav had other ideas. He set about carrying the team into three figures before cutting loose late on, taking three sixes off Mohammed Siraj in the 19th over before smashing Harshal for another maximum from the final ball of the innings. 

Yadav took the catch that broke up the RCB opening pairing, as he showed safe hands at long-on to remove Faf du Plessis for 16 and give Jaydev Unadkat an early wicket. As with Mumbai, that first wicket fell with the score on 50, but RCB did not crumble as the Indians did. 

Rawat impressed, while Kohli was dropped just inside the deep square leg boundary by Brevis off Basil Thampi at the start of the 15th over, the ball squirting away for four. 

It was rather academic by then, and although Rawat fell to a smart piece of fielding by Ramandeep, and Kohli was unimpressed at being given out, RCB were soon home and hosed. 

Three in a row for RCB, on two counts

RCB have now won three successive IPL games against Mumbai for the first time in their history. They have also won three in a row this season after an opening defeat to Punjab Kings, nudging them up to third in the table. 

Yadav needs support

Yadav cracked a team-high 52 from 36 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday and finished on the losing side. He again showed great quality in the middle order by bludgeoning six sixes in his backs-against-the-wall assault, making it tough on him to finish on the losing side. Others now need to step up when Mumbai face Punjab Kings on Wednesday. 

Pat Cummins blasted an astonishing record-equalling half-century to secure a five-wicket Indian Premier League win for Kolkata Knight Riders over Mumbai Indians.

The Indians posted 161-4 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Suryakumar Yadav top scoring with 52 off 36 balls with support from Tilak Varma (38 not out) and Kieron Pollard (22no).

Mumbai looked to be on course for their first win of the tournament when KKR were 101-5 in the 14th over, but Australia Test captain Cummins had other ideas.

The paceman matched KL Rahul's record for the fastest IPL half-century from 14 balls and put the Knight Riders top by hitting Daniel Sams for six to seal victory with four overs to spare, Venkatesh Iyer also playing a big hand with an unbeaten 50.

Jos Buttler's second Indian Premier League century helped maintain Rajasthan Royals' winning start in 2022, setting the stage for a 23-run defeat of Mumbai Indians.

The Indians put their opponents in to bat first but no doubt soon regretted that decision as opener Buttler plundered 100 off 68 balls.

That knock did the heavy lifting in the Royals' 193-8 – a total that proved comfortably beyond Mumbai, despite the best efforts of teenager Tilak Varma (61).

Buttler had 26 runs in a dizzying fourth over alone and later put on 82 with captain Sanju Samson (30) for the third wicket in the biggest partnership of the match.

Shimron Hetmyer (35) played his part and the Royals were moving at a blistering pace up until his departure, collapsing from 183-3 with 11 balls remaining.

That shaky finish looked like it could prove costly when Varma joined Ishan Kishan (54) in the middle, but Ravi Ashwin finally got the better of the 19-year-old.

Yuzvendra Chahal (2-26) then set about tidying up the rest of the middle order, getting Tim David and Daniel Sams from consecutive deliveries before creating a hat-trick chance with his ball to Murugan Ashwin, only for Karun Nair to fluff the catch, if not his team's ultimately routine win.

Bumrah bests Buttler after brilliant show

One of the great limited-overs batsmen, Buttler's tally of a single hundred in 66 prior IPL matches was on the light side. He was well on the way to his second century within four overs, though, with 38 runs off 20 balls at that stage.

The England wicketkeeper hit five boundaries in succession – two fours and three sixes – in that fourth over. Although that pace then slowed a little, it still required an elite bowler to eventually get Buttler, with a Jasprit Bumrah beauty among three wickets in the 19th over as he finished with 3-17.

Victory charge ends with Varma wicket

Varma could not join Buttler on three figures, but this was a first fifty and will surely not be his last. It said a lot for Varma's performance that he earned a send off from Ashwin, having sent him for six with a reverse sweep from the previous ball.

Unfortunately for the Indians, already slightly behind in the game, their next boundary did not follow for almost three overs – during which time Chahal took his two wickets.

Delhi Capitals secured an impressive opening victory in the Indian Premier League against Mumbai Indians at Brabourne Stadium, beating the five-time champions by four wickets.

Despite missing David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Anrich Nortje, the Capitals ultimately eased to victory, with Lalit Yadav (47 not out) and Axar Patel (38 not out) rescuing what had looked like a precarious situation.

An impressive 81 from 48 balls from Ishan Kishan helped the hosts on their way to 177-5 from their 20 overs, and they then reduced the Capitals to 104-6 from 13.2 overs, only for a partnership of 75 off the next five overs from Lalit and Axar to see the visitors home.

Kishan put on an opening stand of 67 with Indians captain Rohit Sharma (41) before the latter hit Kuldeep Yadav (3-18) to Rovman Powell.

Delhi appeared to be back in contention when the dangerous Kieron Pollard was caught brilliantly by Tim Seifert, the fielder taking a diving two-handed catch to his left to dismiss the Trinidadian for just three, but Tim David (12) played the support role for Kishan to do the damage, hitting 11 fours and two sixes.

Prithvi Shaw (38) and Seifert (21) made a promising start in reply before New Zealander Seifert was bowled by Murugan Ashwin, with Mandeep Singh following two balls later for a duck.

Capitals coach Ricky Ponting looked concerned on the sidelines when skipper Rishabh Pant hit a Tymal Mills delivery straight to David for just one, but Lalit and Axar eventually put on a show to see their team to victory.

Axar makes amends with the bat

Axar had not had the best of times with the ball in hand, going for 40 from his four overs without taking a wicket.

However, he more than made up for it with the bat as he smacked 38 from just 17 balls, including three sixes and the winning four to see his side to victory.

Sams has day to forget

Someone else who did not enjoy bowling was Daniel Sams, who went for 57 without taking a wicket from his four overs, including conceding nine boundaries (six fours, three sixes).

The game looked like it was drifting heavily towards Delhi's favour anyway, but that was confirmed when the Australian's final over went for 24.

Attacking left-hander Nicholas Pooran was the most expensive West Indian purchase at the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction which began on Saturday.

Pooran went to the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for 10.75 crore (USD 1.43 million).

The Sunrisers will be his third IPL franchise after previously representing the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings.

Jason Holder, formerly of the Sunrisers, will be suiting up for the new Lucknow Super Giants after being snapped up for 8.5 crore (USD 1.16 million).

Dwayne Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer were the only other West Indians sold on day 1 to the Chennai Super Kings for 4.4 crore (USD 583,953.04) and the Rajasthan Royals for 8.5 crore, respectively.

Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard were all retained by their respective franchises before the auction.

Indian left-hander Ishan Kishan had the honour of being the most expensive pick-up of this year’s auction after going to the Mumbai Indians for 15.25 crore (USD 2.03 million).

Day 2 of the auction takes place on Sunday.

Nathan Coulter-Nile claimed his best Indian Premier League figures and Ishan Kishan smashed a half-century as Mumbai Indians stayed in the play-off hunt with an eight-wicket hammering of Rajasthan Royals.

Both sides started their penultimate match of the regular season on Tuesday knowing they needed a win to have any real chance of taking the fourth and final play-off place.

The defending champions moved level on points with the fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders, who have a superior run-rate, and left the sorry Royals facing an early exit by dishing out a thrashing at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Coulter-Nile finished with incredible figures of 4-14 as the Royals could only post a meagre 90-9 - the second-lowest total in the full 20 overs in IPL history.

Jimmy Neesham took 3-12 and Jasprit Bumrah 2-14, with Rajasthan capitulating from 41-1 under pressure.

Mumbai had no such trouble with the bat in their run chase, reaching their target for the fall of only two wickets with 70 balls to spare.

Such an emphatic win for the holders may still not be enough for them to qualify ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, with KKR in pole position as they prepare to face the seventh-placed Royals on Thursday.

Coulter-Nile rips through Royals

Australian paceman Coulter-Nile was the Royals' chief tormentor after they had got off to a promising start.

He ended an opening stand of 27 by getting Yashasvi Jaiswal caught behind and Rajasthan fell to pieces after Lewis was snared leg before by Bumrah.

Coulter-Nile cleaned up Glenn Phillips and struck David Miller in front before bowling Chetan Sakariya, while Neesham claimed the wickets of Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia on the New Zealand all-rounder's IPL return.

Sealed with a Kish

Kishan came to the wicket on the back of three failures, but he returned to form in spectacular fashion to seal victory in a hurry.

Rohit Sharma (22 off 13) became the first Indian batsman to hit 400 T20 sixes before fellow opener Kishan came to the fore.

The 23-year-old reached the 1,000 runs landmark for the franchise, clearing the rope three times and hitting a further four boundaries, dispatching Mustafizur Rahman for four and then a six to reach his half-century and wrap up a crushing win.

Shreyas Iyer nudged Delhi Capitals to a four-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians to leave the defending Indian Premier League champions in danger of missing out on the play-offs.

Avesh Khan (3-15) and Axar Patel (3-21) limited Mumbai - who are sixth with two matches to play - to 129-8 as the holders lost wickets at regular intervals.

Anrich Nortje also picked up 1-19 from his four-over allocation and, despite Suryakumar Yadav's 33, Rishabh Pant's side looked like the firm favourites at the halfway point in Sharjah on Saturday.

Nathan Coulter-Nile dismissed fellow Australian Steve Smith (nine) with his first delivery to leave the Capitals teetering at 30-3 after openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw were also dismissed cheaply.

Pant (26) followed to off-spinner Jayant Yadav to leave Delhi 57-4 but Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer (15) offered resistance to drag their side up to 93-6 before the latter fell to Jasprit Bumrah's deceiving slower ball.

Ravichandran Ashwin (20) then joined Iyer, who finished unbeaten on 33, to secure victory for second-placed Delhi with five balls to spare and leave the Indians under serious threat of failing to reach the play-offs.

Avesh torments Indians

Avesh toyed with the Mumbai line-up as he delivered a mix of slower balls and inswinging yorkers to secure his three dismissals.

The seamer impressively dismissed the dangerous finisher Hardik Pandya in the penultimate over, while also removing Coulter-Nile after he had claimed the big scalp of Rohit Sharma in his first over.

Ashwin final-over gamble fails

Pant gambled by holding back Ashwin to the final over of Mumbai's innings. The off-spinner dismissed Jayant Yadav but conceded 13 from his final six deliveries as he ended with 1-41 from his four overs.

However, Ashwin made up for it with the bat as he sealed the win with a six off Krunal Pandya's first ball of the last over.

Mumbai Indians put an end to a three-game losing streak to boost their play-off hopes in the Indian Premier League, beating Punjab Kings by six wickets. 

Saurabh Tiwary made 45 and Hardik Pandya hit an unbeaten 40 as the reigning champions overhauled their opponents' score of 135-6 with an over to spare on Tuesday. 

Looking to beat Mumbai for a third time in a row – a feat they had not managed since a run between the 2008-09 seasons – Punjab Kings simply failed to fire with the bat. They appeared to be making solid progress when their opening pair reached 36 without loss, only to then lose four wickets for the addition of just 12 runs.

Kieron Pollard claimed two in one over, including dismissing fellow West Indian Chris Gayle for one. Captain KL Rahul followed soon after, hitting a slower bouncer straight to Jasprit Bumrah at short fine leg to depart for 21. 

Aiden Markram led a recovery of sorts, finishing as the top scorer in the innings with 42. Deepak Hooda contributed 28 while Harpreet Brar ended up unbeaten on 14, though both struggled to up the run-rate in the closing overs. 

Ravi Bishnoi provided hope for Punjab Kings by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav with successive deliveries in the powerplay, but Pollard came out at number six in the order to rush his team to victory, making 15 not out from just seven balls.

Bowlers help dethrone Kings 

Mumbai Indians have lost 13 games against Punjab Kings in the history of the IPL, the joint-most for the franchise against any rival in the tournament. 

However, they came out on top this time thanks mainly to their bowling attack. Krunal Pandya and Bumrah both claimed 1-24, while Nathan Coulter-Nile's four-over stint conceded just 19 runs. 

All-round excellence in Abu Dhabi 

Pollard may be better known for his big-hitting exploits with the bat, but the all-rounder has now reached the milestone of 300 wickets in Twenty20 cricket, meaning he becomes the first player to achieve both that feat and also score 10,000 runs in the format.

He dismissed Gayle for just the second time in T20 action, tempting the left-hander to have a go at a slower delivery that only ended up in the safe hands of Hardik Pandya. 

Glenn Maxwell starred with bat and ball and Harshal Patel took a hat-trick as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by 54 runs in Sunday's Indian Premier League clash.

RCB's captain Virat Kohil, who is set to stand down at the end of the season, laid the foundations with 51 before Srikar Bharat (32) and Maxwell (56) led their side to 165 from their 20 overs.

It could have been far more, however, if it was not for death-bowling pair Jasprit Bumrah (3-36) and Trent Boult (1-17), who combined well to limit Kohli's side to what seemed like a par score before Bangalore's bowlers fought back excellently.

Rohit Sharma (43) and Quinton de Kock (24) looked to have continued the momentum by putting on 56 inside the powerplay, but the latter fell to Yuzendra Chahal (3-11) before the India opener was removed by Maxwell.

Ishan Kishan and Krunal Pandya quickly followed to the same spinning pair, leaving Mumbai 93-4 with seven overs to go.

Patel inflicted further misery as he ran through the middle and lower-order batters, removing Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Chahar to secure a memorable hat-trick as Mumbai were bowled out for just 111 with 11 balls remaining.

Brilliant Bumrah and Boult

Bumrah removed two of Bangalore's dangermen in Maxwell and AB de Villiers in the space of two balls to kick-start a miserly death-bowling spell, which ultimately proved in vain.

The India quick would eventually finish with an economy of nine as he managed dot balls with a third of his deliveries, while Boult produced four more dots and finished impressively with an economy of just over four.

King Kohli's captaincy decisions pay off

Kohli seemed to get every decision right. Mohammed Siraj ran straight to Kohli following his dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav, suggesting a plan between the pair had come off before another bowling change paid off as well.

Dan Christian, despite his first over going for 15, was brought back by Kohli and his following set of six went for just a run a ball as every decision Kohli made seemed to turn to gold, with RCB limiting Mumbai throughout the middle overs to coast to a comfortable win.

Kolkata Knight Riders recorded only their second win in the past 14 Indian Premier League meetings with Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Eoin Morgan's side swept to an impressive seven-wicket victory after Mumbai had made a strong start through Rohit Sharma (33) and Quinton de Kock (55), having been put in to bat.

The Knight Riders made the challenge of chasing 156 look all too easy, Rahul Tripathi (74) leading the way as they reached 159-3 with 29 balls to spare.

An opening stand of 78 was finally broken when Sunil Narine (1-20) accounted for Rohit before Suryakumar Yadav went for the loss of just five runs.

De Kock's solid 55 ended when he mishit the ball straight to Narine as Prasidh Krishna got his second wicket.

Kieron Pollard (21) and Krunal Pandya (12) helped to stretch the Indians' score to 155-6, and Kolkata's chase looked in a little danger after Shubman Gill was skittled for 13 by Jasprit Bumrah (2-35).

It proved a mere blip during an impeccable innings, though, as Venkatesh Iyer and Tripathi each reached stunning half-centuries while Morgan managed seven off eight balls before being caught by Trent Boult at the ropes.

A commanding victory was secured in style, Nitish Rana reverse sweeping for four as the Knight Riders reached their target with almost five full overs left.

TRIPATHI LEADS MASTERCLASS

It would be easy to blame the Mumbai attack for the ease with which their score was hunted down, Kolkata managing 22 boundaries including eight maximums from only 15.1 overs.

However, praise has to go to the batsmen – and Tripathi in particular – for some immaculate strokes as they finished with a run rate of 10.48.

KNIGHT RIDERS GALLOPING TO PLAY-OFFS

Kolkata are into fourth in the table after managing just a seventh win over the Indians in 29 IPL matches.

With three victories from four, they look to be finding form at a critical moment in the competition.

Playing in his 100th match for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Dwayne Bravo scored a crucial 23 and took three wickets to lead the team to a 20-run victory over defending champions Mumbai Indians as action resumed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Dubai on Sunday.