Put into bat, the visitors had a good start with openers Chris Lynn (41 off 29 balls) and Shubman Gill (9 off 16 balls) amassing 49 runs together in almost 6 overs.
KKR’s highest run-getter this season, Russell (510 from 13 innings) was dismissed for a first ball duck and it was left to Robin Uthappa (40 off 47 balls) and Nitish Rana (26 off 13 balls) to stitch a 47-run stand for the fifth wicket to take KKR past the 120-run mark.
Lasith Malinga (3/35), Hardik Pandya (2/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/31) were the main wicket-takers for the home side. It was the middle-order collapse that helped Mumbai bowlers make a splendid comeback.
There was no stopping Lynn as he struck two towering sixes off leg-spinner Rahul Chahar in the sixth over as KKR finished the Powerplay at 49/0.
However, Hardik brought the home side back into the match by removing both the openers in quick succession. While he trapped Gill in front of the wicket in the seventh over, he sent back a dangerous Lynn in the ninth over, caught by Quinton De Kock, as Kolkata slumped to 56/2.
KKR could fetch only 12 runs in five overs and were struggling at 61/2 after 11 overs. McClenaghan bowled a maiden over as Robin Uthappa struggled to score.
And in the 13th over, Malinga gave KKR a double blow by removing skipper Dinesh Karthik (3 off 9 balls) and in-form Russell (0 off 1 ball), who gloved to keeper de Kock.
KKR were 73/4 then and they never recovered from there.