Kolkata Knight Riders accomplished a challenging task on Monday evening after they stunned arch-rivals Mumbai Indians by 52-runs. In response to Kolkata's 165, Mumbai Indians succumbed to impressive bowling from Pat Cummins, Andre Russel, and others as Mumbai were bundled out for just 113 in 17.3 overs.
Kolkata's bowling performance in the second innings shocked many as the franchise bounced back strongly from the first innings, which saw a massive batting collapse in the middle-order. After successfully leading the franchise to its fifth win of the season, Shreyas Iyer made a stunning revelation that instantly became a talking point on social media.
During the post-match presentation, Shreyas was asked about how he goes about with the conversation of dropping and axing. The Kolkata skipper started by saying that it sometimes gets difficult to convey the decision, and coaches are also involved in the process, but the shocking confession came in the form of the CEO's involvement in the team's selection.
Shreyas said, "It is difficult (to tell players about axings). Coach and, at times, the CEO is also obviously involved in team selections. Every Player takes it well, and they have put in their best efforts."
His revelation immediately became a matter of discussion on social media with many claiming it as one of the hidden truths in the Indian Premier League. Notably, Kolkata made as many as five changes for the game as they roped in Ajinkaya Rahane, Pat Cummins, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, and Sheldon Jackson. Speaking of the match, Jasprit Bumrah shone with the ball as the Mumbai pacer picked five wickets in the first innings and was rewarded with the Player of the Match award, despite ending up on the losing side.
For Kolkata, Venkatesh Iyer (43 off 24) and Nitish Rana (43 off 26) provided a flying start, but the lack of any support from the middle-order restricted Kolkata at 165. Interestingly, seven of Kolkata batters could not even reach double-digit figures, including three ducks. However, the bowlers were impressive as Pat Cummins picked three wickets, Andre Russell two, and an economical bowling spell from Tim Southee and Sunil Narine stifled Mumbai Indians.
