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IPL 2026: KKR's Manish Pandey plays match-winning 45 versus MI
21 May 2026

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by four wickets in a thrilling IPL 2026 match at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.

The win was largely due to veteran cricketer Manish Pandey's brilliant innings of 45 runs off just 33 balls.

KKR chased down the target of 148 with seven balls to spare, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

MI scored 147/8 before KKR (148/6) chased down the score in 18.5 overs.

Pandey, Powell lead the chase for KKR
Chase challenge

In response to MI's total, KKR lost their star opener Finn Allen early to Deepak Chahar.

Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed for 21 runs off 17 balls.

Green fell cheaply to Bosch for four runs, but Pandey and Rovman Powell steadied the chase with a 64-run partnership.

Pandey shone for KKR with a gritty knock before Jasprit Bumrah dismissed him while Powell was removed by spinner Allah Ghazanfar for 40 runs.

Pandey shines in his 1st outing with bat this season
Pandey

Playing his 5th game of the season, Pandey got a chance to bat for only the 1st time.

He came in at three with Angkrish Raghuvanshi subbed off and delivered the goods.

Pandey scored 45 runs off 33 balls, hitting six fours along the way. As mentioned, he was dismissed by Bumrah.

He was part of a brilliant stand alongside Powell, which helped KKR steady their innings.

Pandey gets to 3,987 runs in IPL
Numbers

Pandey has raced to 3,987 runs from 179 IPL games (163 innings) at an average of 29.53.

His strike rate is 121.66. Pandey is closing in on 350 IPL fours (346).

As per ESPNcricinfo, in 27 games versus MI, Pandey has amassed 841 runs at 36.56 (SR: 130.59).

Overall in the 20-over format, Pandey owns 7,145 runs from 316 games (286 innings) at 31.75.

He is closing in on 600 fours (590).