The drop that didn't cost KKR

Varun Chakaravarthy had it covered.

Tilak Varma, on 12 off 22 and struggling against spin, went for the slog-sweep against the wrong'un and sent a top-edge flying towards mid-on. Varun settled under it, only for Angkrish Raghuvanshi to come running across and collide into him. The ball popped out.

It took Varun a while to get up, more from frustration than fresh damage. He had a few words with Angkrish before limping back to his mark.

The left foot has been an issue for a while. He took a blow on the boot earlier this month and hasn't been moving freely since. There has been no official confirmation around the extent of the injury. Ajinkya Rahane called him "brave" for playing against Gujarat Titans with a "sore foot."

After the MI game, assistant coach Shane Watson said: "He's playing through a bit of pain. He's still bowling beautifully. With the pain he's managing, he could have easily said, 'I don't want to be a part of this.' We're very fortunate that he's all in."

The collision left Varun wicketless, but it also kept Tilak at the crease. On this pitch, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing for KKR.

Tilak faced another 10 balls for 8 runs and finished with 20 off 32 balls. The last time an IPL batter faced 30+ balls at a lower strike-rate was 14 years ago. 24 of his 32 deliveries were against spinners, not his strongest suit.

MI lost four wickets in the Powerplay and managed only 48 runs between overs 7 to 15. As Paras Mhambrey said, it was about the "ability to read the wicket" against quality spin. Tilak couldn't do that. Will Jacks tried something different, including the biggest six of the night, but Tilak using up those deliveries without shifting gears kept KKR ahead.

MI finished with 147/8, which Hardik Pandya said was "20 runs short."

The collision showed up again in the next innings. Raghuvanshi had to be subbed out with concussion. "The collision meant he had some neck pain, dizziness and a headache," Watson said.

In his place, Manish Pandey came in at No. 3. On this sticky surface, his 45* off 33 were perfectly paced, getting KKR over the line.

The collision denied Varun a wicket, but not much else. He played his part in keeping the game tight despite visible pain, ensuring KKR live to see another day in IPL 2026.