Kolkata Knight Riders registered a consolation nine-wicket victory against a second-string Mumbai Indians side in the last IPL 3 league match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.

Kolkata beat Mumbai in IPL for the first time ever by chasing down the low victory target of 134 runs with 15 balls to spare with Brendon McCullum hitting an unbeaten 57 off 56 balls with the help of 8 fours.

McCullum’s fifty came soon after Sourav Ganguly (42) was dismissed by Rajagopal Sathish breaking the 97-run stand between the two KKR openers.

Ganguly and McCullum gave KKR a good start to their run chase putting up a 50-run stand in 7 overs.

Earlier, Shane Bond and Murali Kartik took 2 wickets each as Kolkata restricted Mumbai to 133/8.

Mumbai reached 133 thanks to a 15-ball 27 by Ambati Rayudu but it could not prevent them from registering their lowest IPL total against Kolkata.

Kartik took his second wicket when he had Dwayne Bravo stumped by Wriddhiman Saha to reduce Mumbai to 89/5.

Jean-Paul Duminy and Saurabh Tiwary added 63 runs for the third wicket before they were dismissed in successive overs as Mumbai were reduced to 77/4.

Tiwary top scored for Mumbai hitting a six and 4 fours in his 37-ball 46 before Kartik had him caught by Brendon McCullum at mid-wicket.

Shane Bond dismissed Aditya Tare and Shikhar Dhawan in successive overs as Mumbai got off to a poor start.

Bond first struck on the fifth ball of the match when he had Tare caught by Murali Kartik in front of square by a short delivery.

In his next over, Bond had Dhawan caught behind by wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha by another short delivery to reduce Mumbai to 14/2.

This was after stand-in Mumbai Indians captain Bravo won the toss and elected to bat.

Mumbai have made quite a few changes to their side as Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Abhishek Nayar have been rested. Shikhar Dhawan, Dwayne Bravo, R Satish, Ali Murtaza and Stuart Binny are the replacements. Kolkata have made two changes to their team as Chris Gayle and Laxmi Ratan Shukla make way for David Hussey and Wriddhiman Saha.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Dwayne Bravo (Capt.), Aditya Tare, Ryan McLaren, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary, Jean-Paul Duminy, Rajagopal Sathish, Stuart Binny, Ali Murtaza, Dilhara Fernando.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (Capt.), Brendon McCullum, Manoj Tiwary, David Hussey, Angelo Mathews, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Jaydev Unadkat, Murali Kartik, Ashok Dinda, Shane Bond.

Source: Times Of India

Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers knocked out Rajasthan Royals from the IPL, and kept their semi-final hopes alive, by limiting them to a below-par score on a slowish pitch, and Sourav Ganguly backed them up with another significant contribution to ensure a comprehensive eight-wicket win. The effort overcame an intimidating start from Shane Watson, who began with a series of boundaries, and the loss of early wickets in the chase. Kolkata, however, face a tough task in ensuring a qualification for the knockout stage, as they have to beat a formidable Mumbai Indians in their next game and by a big margin to boost their negative net run-rate.

Watson, opening for the first time this IPL, took little time in settling in to his preferred position in limited-overs cricket, and triggered a confident start with a series of boundaries, feeding off some indisciplined bowling. The Kolkata bowlers often pitched too short or were countered by some superior batting by Watson, who created opportunities to find the boundaries with ease. But the damage caused in the first seven overs, where Rajasthan had raced to 57 without loss, was compensated for by Kolkata’s seamers, who, realising the sluggish nature of the track, cut down on pace and used their variations well. Laxmi Shukla played a prominent role in the first two dismissals, bowling Watson with a slower legcutter and then flinging himself to his left to snap a blinder off Naman Ojha.

Kolkata’s ground-fielding remained poor for much of the innings but their catching won them crucial wickets. Sourav Ganguly’s brilliant effort to get rid of Yusuf Pathan was among the best catches in the tournament, as he ran back several yards from midwicket, kept his eyes on the ball and fell full stretch to hold on. When Ashok Dinda had Adam Voges hole out to long-on in the 14th over, four out of five genuine batsmen had fallen prey to the slower ball.

While the boundaries had dried up, Rajasthan could have still worked the field and rotated the strike to preserve enough wickets for the surge at the death. But their batsmen consumed an inordinate number of dot balls – including a wicket-maiden by Bond where he dismissed Aaron Finch – to salvage just 30 runs in the last six overs for the loss of five wickets.

The conditions were difficult to handle, with Rajasthan’s bowlers consistently slipping in slower cutters and the ball keeping low and an altered middle order, featuring three changes from the previous game, struggled in the wake of the increasing pressure. Abhishek Raut and Paras Dogra fell in their attempt to step up, and Dinda’s last over featured two more wickets, as Rajasthan, in a must-win game, disappointed with the bat.

Kolkata needed an attacking start in their pursuit of a big win to propel their net run-rate, but were deprived by the early loss of Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle. Ganguly had warmed up well with three boundaries, but Kamran Khan’s double-strike in the third over – he snared McCullum with a full toss and bowled Gayle through the gate – prompted a change in approach with Kolkata opting for a game of caution, postponing their acceleration. Each of the next five overs featured a boundary, but only 22 were scored off them as most balls, barring the bad one that had to be dispatched, were pushed towards fielders inside the circle.

The quest to pierce the field and hunt for more singles was evident in the first couple of overs following the time-out, and it was in the 12th over that Ganguly displayed the belated aggression, making room and charging down the track to strike Yusuf for two boundaries. He and Cheteshwar Pujara then followed up with a six each in the next over from Adam Voges. Ganguly hammered consecutive fours off Siddharth Trivedi and helped smote 15 in Faiz Fazal’s only over to help Kolkata past their target with 23 balls to spare, but the result, despite its convincing margin, may yet prove inadequate for Kolkata when the final four are determined.

Siddhartha Talya is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo

Half-centuries by Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay and a three wickets haul by R Ashwin helped Chennai Super Kings steamroll Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets at the Chepauk.

Chris Gayle hit the top of off-stump and Matthew Hayden is on his way back to the dug-out. Just the start Kolkata Knight Riders wanted.

Kolkata are 139 for eight

Kolkata recovered well after losing four early wickets against Chennai Super Kings. Angelo Mathews top scored with 48 to lend some respectability to Kolkata’s total.

R Ashwin was on fire for Chennai, snapping up Gayle, McCullum and David Hussey while Doug Bollinger was lucky to get an LBW decision against Ganguly.

Ashwin prized out Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum in the third over of the innings to leave Kolkata reeling.

Gayle smoked R Ashwin out of the park for a six and then danced down the track to be completely deceived in the next delivery, Easy stumping opportunity for MS Dhoni.

McCullum tried to sweep Ashwin but top edged to Muralitharan at short fine leg.

Ganguly was unlucky to be given LBW off Doug Bollinger by umpire Sanjay Hazare. Kolkata Knight Riders are in deep trouble.

Angelo Mathews and Tiwary stitched a solid partnership to bail KKR out of a disastrous start against Chennai.

Suresh Raina helped Chennai Super Kings make a crucial breakthrough after Manoj Tiwary holed out to Murali Vijay in the deep.

MS Dhoni was brilliant behind the stumps and he kept his cool again to stump Saha off Shadab Jakati as Kolkata Knight Riders plunged into further trouble.

Laxmi Ratan Shukla struck some lusty blows for Kolkata Knight Riders before being done in by a short ball from Doug Bollinger.

Mathews played a great hand in rebuilding Kolkata’s innings before top edging his Sri Lankan teammate Muralitharan for 48.

The Toss

Kolkata Knight Riders have won the toss and decided to bat first against Chennai Super Kings in a must-win IPL clash at the Chepauk on Tuesday.

Brief Preview

This is as tight as it gets. Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders face off in a must-win tie for both sides. With the run to the semis getting hotter with every match, the stakes are higher than before.

After two appalling seasons, Kolkata Knight Riders have a chance this time of making it to the first four. However, for that to happen, every game for Sourav Ganguly’s men will be a knock-out. The skipper blasted his teammates for a poor show against RCB the other night and every player will want to prove his worth.

Chennai Super Kings, on the other side, have been on an upward surge with Murali Vijay showinng his big-hitting skills. MS Dhoni is a shrewd captain and it remains to be seen who – amongst two of India’s most successul captains holds his head high tonight. CSK have a great bowling attack and with Muralitharan warming the benches for the last few matches, KKR will be a worried lot.

Teams

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C) (W), Murali Vijay, Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Subramaniam Badrinath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Srikkanth Anirudha, Muttiah Muralidaran, Shadab Jakati, Doug Bollinger

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (C), Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Manoj Tiwary, Angelo Mathews, Wriddhiman Saha (W), Laxmi Shukla, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, David Hussey, Iqbal Abdulla

Source: ESPN Star

In a must win match to stay in the race for a berth in the semis, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) late Saturday beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in this cricket crazy tech hub.

With this sweet victory on home ground, Challengers bounce back to second position in the league table with 12 points from 11 matches, winning six and losing five.

Chasing a modest target of 161 at a run rate of 8 per over, Challengers cruised to victory in 17.1 overs by scoring 164 for three wickets, thanks to a fiery knock by local lad Robin Uthappa, who smashed 52 runs in just 22 balls, lofting five mighty sixes and thrice finding the ropes.

New Zealander Ross Taylor, who walked into the middle after the fall of the ‘wall’ Rahul Dravid in the 14th over with the score at 102, finished the game on a winning note, with a four to remain unbeaten in a 62-run fourth wicket partnership with Uthappa.

Though the tournament’s top scorer Jacques Kallis got out cheaply for 8 in the third over, the dependable Rahul Dravid and new opener Sridharan Sriram steadied the innings from 11 to 83 in 11 overs and put on a commendable 72-run partnership for the second wicket.

The home team, which lost to Knight Riders in their opening match at Kolkata March 14, avenged the defeat by restricting their opponents to 160 for nine wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.

Though Riders began on a cautious note, openers Sourav Ganguly and Chris Gayle steadied the innings to score the first 50 in 5 overs and 100 in 11 overs.

After the fall off Gayle for 34 at 52 and Ganguly for 33 at 103, Riders struggled to maintain their momentum and lost three wickets for 2 runs in a span of 14 balls.

Brendon McCullum, however, kept the score ticking with a swashbuckling 45 containing five hits to the ropes and two sixes.

Medium pacer Vinay Kumar was the most successful bowler for the Challengers, with three crucial wickets for just 23 runs, followed by Jacques Kallis with two wickets for 31 runs. Kumble and Dale Steyn shared one wicket each.

There were two brilliant run outs. Extras were 11.

Source: Yahoo

In stark contrast to the silence that accompanied the listless defence against Kings XI Punjab, the Eden Gardens faithful responded passionately to a charged performance from Kolkata Knight Riders, which derailed Delhi Daredevils’ chase to secure an invaluable 14-run victory. At the heart of the turnaround was Sourav Ganguly, who scored a half-century to build a challenging total, after which he fielded like few believed he could: the direct hit that ran out Gautam Gambhir ended a threatening 99-run partnership and turned the game Kolkata’s way.

The result took them level on 10 points with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the fourth-placed team.

It nearly didn’t happen for Kolkata though. Virender Sehwag, who was reprieved on 7 when the umpire failed to hear or see an edge, threatened to deliver Delhi their seventh win. His partnership with Gambhir put Delhi on course and he completed a 34-ball half-century, his slowest in the IPL. It was greeted with silence by Eden Gardens. Delhi needed 48 off 32 balls with seven wickets in hand when Ajit Agarkar’s inswinger crashed into Sehwag’s stumps, and the slide had begun.

Ajantha Mendis, chosen ahead of Shane Bond because of a dry pitch, had Kedar Jadhav caught at cover – Ganguly jumping to intercept a hard drive – in the 17th over. The next, from left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, was pivotal. He bowled Farveez Maharoof with one that pitched middle and hit off, before reacting athletically to run out Rajat Bhatia three balls later.

The decisive blow was struck by Ashok Dinda in the penultimate over when Dinesh Karthik, Kolkata’s last threat, pulled to Brendon McCullum at midwicket. His exit left Delhi needing 30 off 10 balls, a task too hard for Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra. It was fitting that Dinda landed the last blow, for he had struck the first during an astonishing opening over. He hurried David Warner with four skiddy deliveries, cramping him for room, before beating him with the fifth – a quick one that uprooted offstump before Warner had brought his bat down. Delhi knew then that they were in for a scrap.

Unlike Ganguly, who used the pace of Dinda, Agarkar and Angelo Mathews, Gambhir instructed his bowlers – from Maharoof to Rajat Bhatia – to take the pace of the ball. It didn’t work immediately for Kolkata made their best score at the end of ten overs this season – 88 – and had all wickets intact.

Chris Gayle, who had scored 40 off 21, fell soon after though, missing a swipe against Bhatia, and Ganguly followed in similar fashion against Vettori. Brendon McCullum was run out cheaply too and Kolkata scored only 30 runs between overs 12 and 16 to reach 130 for 3.

The innings needed acceleration and it was provided by Mathews and Tiwary. Mathews had been dropped Bhatia on 10 – a caught and bowled opportunity – and he made Delhi pay with two well-aimed blows over long-on. Tiwary joined in the hitting right at the end, and they boosted the innings by taking 18 runs off Mishra’s last over. Their partnership was worth 70 in 6.5 overs, and it helped set Delhi a testing target in a match vital to Kolkata’s semi-final chances.

George Binoy is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

There were two captivating innings of contrasting styles on show at the Eden Gardens and, eventually, it was the precision of Mahela Jayawardene’s graceful strokes that helped Kings XI Punjab overcome the challenge set by Chris Gayle’s exhibition of bottom-handed power-hitting. Jayawardene started in high gear and kept the accelerator floored all the way to his first Twenty20 century; his partnership with Sri Lankan team-mate Kumar Sangakkara ensured Punjab’s string of deplorable performances this season ended with a chase that was always several steps ahead of the asking-rate.

While this victory did little for Punjab’s semi-final chances – they need to win five more in a row and then pray – it damaged Kolkata Knight Riders’ campaign. Had they won, they would have climbed to fourth in the league after nine games, ahead of Chennai Super Kings, but instead they remained fifth, just above the Rajasthan Royals. Such a helpless defence of a formidable target would have been far removed from the expectations of a noisy crowd, high on adrenalin after Gayle had blitzed 88 off 42 balls during an innings that contained a 33-run over, the costliest of the IPL.

It began poorly for the hosts, with Murali Kartik fumbling the first ball of the chase at point and allowing a single, which brought Jayawardene on strike. He got on his toes as Shane Bond delivered, rode the bounce, and cut his first ball to boundary. Jayawardene, who had asked to open because Shaun Marsh was injured, continued to thread cuts through the off side, against Bond and Jaidev Unadkat, and also found the long-off boundary with a graceful straight drive. His first leg-side boundary was a lofted six off Unadkat in the fourth over. He lost his opening partner Manvinder Bisla, who biffed few boundaries as well, in the fifth over to an arm ball from Kartik, but his intensity and strike-rate did not relent.

In the final over of the Powerplay, Jayawardene made room and square-drove Gayle for four, stayed back and pulled over short fine leg, and lofted the last ball back over the bowler’s head for six. Punjab scored 17 runs off the over and were 69 for 1 after six. There was rain in the air and Duckworth-Lewis equations on players’ minds. If the game ended there, Punjab were ahead. It would stay that way.

Sangakkara’s contribution was vital too, for his 38 off 22 balls eased the pressure on Jayawardene, who had reached his half-century off 26 balls. Sangakkara took on Angelo Mathews in his first over, charging to loft over mid-on for four before clearing the straight boundary in his second.

Punjab had raced to 105 for 1 after 9.5 overs when Jayawardene gave Kolkata a chance, spooning Mathews to short third man. He was on 51, Punjab needed 95 off 61 balls, but Kartik dropped the opportunity. He was made to regret it immediately. Jayawardene hit three fours in the next over, bowled by Ajit Agarkar, and Punjab continued to whittle down the target rapidly. The identity of the bowler didn’t matter, for Jayawardene found the boundary at will, and neither did Sangakkara’s dismissal with the score on 149. They had added 98 off 8.5 overs.

Yuvraj Singh, smarting from the criticism heaped on him by the media, ensured there was no choke, clouting 33 off 16 balls. He was applauding Jayawardene’s century, off 55 balls, even before they completed the run that got him there. The match ended with successive boundaries from Jayawardene – one helped past fine leg, the other pulled in front of midwicket – off the first two balls of the 19th over, but the Eden Gardens faithful had been silenced well before that.

Unlike Punjab’s chase, which was fuelled by consistently expensive overs, Kolkata’s innings relied on Gayle awakening from a run-a-ball torpor to reach 200. He had faced only 24 balls in the first half of the innings and scored only 24, with no sixes. Ramesh Powar, the offspinner, had restricted him by bowling into his pads from over the wicket, varying his pace and trajectory. Gayle had tried to play the sweep but his timing wasn’t fluent.

Finally, in the 11th over, Gayle stirred. Powar had bowled 3.5 overs for 17 runs, when Gayle advanced to his final ball and muscled it over the long-on boundary. Powar finished with 0 for 23 off four overs; his team-mates were not going to be as fortunate.

Kolkata were 89 for 1 when Bopara came on to bowl the 13th, and carnage was around the corner. Manoj Tiwary rotated the strike with a single off the first delivery, and Gayle heaved the second and third over the midwicket and long-on boundary, losing the ball in the construction rubble. He had sped to 50 off 30 balls, scoring 26 off his last six balls, and more was to follow. For the fourth ball, Gayle created some room, stayed low and launched it flat over the cover boundary. The fifth was lost in the long-on rubble again. Bopara, reeling from four consecutive sixes, let slip a wide which beat the wicketkeeper too. At the end of the over, Kolkata were 122 for 1, and Gayle was on 62 off 32.

Gayle then skied a mis-hit off Chawla. The bowler wanted to take the catch himself and made a mess of it, much to Ganguly’s mirth in the dug out. Jayawardene, however, ensured that Ganguly would not be the last one laughing on the night.

George Binoy is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Rajasthan Royals dished out an all-round performance to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 34 runs and register their first win in the third edition of the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

Battered and bruised in the last three matches, Rajasthan Royals were in desperate need of a win and Shane Warne’s men didn’t disappoint as they first posted a competitive target of 169 and then restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to 134 for five at the Sardar Patel stadium at Motera here.

Chasing 169 to win, KKR started rather slowly as they scored at nearly six runs per over and once they lost opener Manoj Tiwary in the third over bowled by Yusuf Pathan things further slowed down.

Cheteshwar Pujara and opener Brad Hodge tried to keep the scoreboard ticking and put up a brilliant 50-run partnership for the second wicket before the former’s innings was cut shot by Siddharth Trivedi.

Pujara’s inside edge off Trivedi hit the middle stump as the Knight Riders were reduced to 68 for two in the 11th over.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly then joined Hodge and they added 27 runs before Hodge was bowled by Pathan in the 15th over.

With the required run-rate rising every moment, Ganguly and newman Owais Shah threw there bat at everything but without much success as the match slipped through their fingers.

In pursuit of runs, Ganguly perished in deep mid-wicket, caught by Adam Voges in the last over off Munaf Patel.

Anjelo Mathews coming at number six also ran himself out in the last over, while Shah was left unbeaten at 19.

Earlier, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala top scored with a 36-ball 45 to guide Rajasthan Royal to a modest 168 for seven after skipper Warne won the toss and decided to bat.

Rajasthan found themselves in a spot of bother when they lost their opener Michael Lumb in the first ball but Naman Ojha (27), Faiz Fazal (31 off 23), Jhunjhunwala and Adam Voges (37 off 22) fired in unison to lift Rajasthan bowlers to a competitive total.

Lumb flopped for the second consecutive match when he was caught plumb in front of the wicket in very first delivery of the innings by Ashok Dinda.

But other opener Ojha and Fazal steadied the ship with a 42-run first wicket partnership.

Ojha blasted five boundaries in his 18-ball innings, while Fazal cracked six fours before being caught by Cheteshwar Pujara off Shane Bond.

Ojha’s innings came to disappointing end as he was run by a combined effort from Bond and Murali Kartik.

Yusuf Pathan (15 off 14) failed to make any significant impact as he was caught by Brad Hodge off Dinda after just managing two hits to the fence.

For Knight Riders, Dinda, Ishant Sharma and Bond picked up two wickets each.

Source: NDTV

Kolkata Knight Riders registered a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their second match of the Indian T20 Series.

Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a flying start through Brad Hodge and Manoj Tiwary, who laid a solid platform, chasing a modest target of 136 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

When Manoj Tiwary departed, Kolkata Knight Riders were already 100 runs up and were in total command.

Meanwhile, Brad Hodge completed his half-century but fell just after that.

At the end, it was a comfortable win for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Thanks to Jacques Kallis’ half-century, RCB could manage to make 135 for seven in their allotted 20 overs.

Charl Langeveldt drew the first blood for Kolkata Knight Riders by sending back Shreevats Goswami early after the host skipper Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to field against Anil Kumble’s Bangalore.

Then Angelo Mathews was quick to claim the second Royal Challengers Bangalore wicket in the form of Manish Pandey.

While Murali Katik added two more wickets to Kolkata Knight Riders kitty by returning both Virat Kohli and Eoin Morgan to leave Royal Challengers Bangalore reeling at 35 for four in 7.2 overs.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis tried to consolidate the innings but Dravid failed to sustain for long and he departed after playing apatient knock of 21.

However, Kallis continued to hold on to his wicket and play his shots even as wickets kept falling at the other end.

The stage at the Eden Gardens, home of Sourav Ganguly, is set. In their first match, they had to play against the champions of the last year and in their second they will be facing the runner-up team.

For Anil Kumble’s Royal Challengers Bangalore, though, it will be the first match of the Indian T20 series in 2010.

Besides the seasoned pros of international cricketers like Sourav, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, the last three from the Royal Challengers Bangalore side proving the fact that KKR, at the moment, are running short on experiences and there will be so many small battles which can decide the fate of the match.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (C), Brad Hodge, Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwary, Owais Shah, Rohan Gavaskar, Angelo Mathews, Wriddhiman Saha (W), Murali Kartik, Charl Langeveldt, Ishant Sharma

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Shreevats Goswami (W), Eoin Morgan, Roelof van der Merwe, Praveen Kumar, Anil Kumble (C), Dale Steyn

Last year’s bottom-rankers Kolkata Knight Riders stunned defending champions Deccan Chargers in the opening match of the third edition of the Indian T20 series.

Deccan Chargers had started their reply on a strong note and Kolkata could feel the heat big time as Adam Gilchrist and Laxman went around treating Kolkata’s bowlers with disdain.

Murali Kartik snapped up Deccan Chargers opener VVS Laxman as Kolkata Knight Riders celebrated their first breakthrough in the opening match of the Indian T20 series.

Gilchrist cracked a scintillating fifty as the defending champions charged towards a challenging 162 to win the opening clash.

Brad Hodge removed former Aussie teammate Adam Gilchrist while Charl Langeveldt snapped up Proteas countryman Herschelle Gibbs signal a turnaround for Kolkata.

Ishant Sharma got rid of the dangerous Andrew Symonds to put Deccan Chargers in a spot of bother.

Rohit Sharma played one of the strangest shots you could have seen on a cricket field, allowing Angelo Mathews to pick up his first wicket of the match.

Laxmi Ratan Shukla is on the button, getting rid of Anirudh Singh as Kolkata Knight Riders further dented Deccan Chargers prospects.

Langeveldt then picked up his second wicket of the match, rattling Chaminda Vaas’ timber in the penultimate over.

Kolkata Knight Riders are 161 for four

Angelo Mathews and Owaish Shah smashed a fifty each to help Kolkata post a commanding total against Deccan Chargers.

Hyderabad got off to a sensational start. Chaminda Vaas struck twice in the first over to send shivers through the Kolkata Knight Riders camp.

Kolkata lost Cheteshwar Pujara and Brad Hodge in quick succession just when the pair started to rebuild the innings against Deccan Chargers.

RP Singh struck in the fifth over to remove Cheteshwar Pujara who played it straight to Pragyan Ojha at mid-on, as KKR slumped to further trouble.

Jaskaran Singh was quick to join the party for the defending champions, seeing off Kolkata Knight Riders most consistent batsman, Brad Hodge. Deccan Chargers are on top.

However, Mathews and Owaish Shah led a sensational recovery for the side, sharing a valuable partnership for the fifth wicket. Both batsmen were not scared to go down the track and use their feet and play some rivetting cricketing shots.

Mathews, in particular, looked dangerous as the KKR innings drew to a close. Interestingly, neither team discussed much during the time-outs but KKR looked way stronger after the jolts in the first seven overs.

The Toss

Hyderabad have won the toss and elected to field in the opening match of the Indian T20 series against Kolkata Knight Riders.

After a sensational opening ceremony to the third edition of the Indian T20 series, focus will shift to hardcore cricket with defending champions, Deccan Chargers taking on KKR in the opening match.

Sourav Ganguly, back as captain for Kolkata Knight Riders, has a lot on his plate, what with a new set of coaches and a new uniform. Deccan Chargers, on the other hand, will look to replicate their performance in South Africa last year.

Both sides, however, have to do without their leading international players, engaged in various series for their national teams across the globe.

Teams

Deccan Chargers: AC Gilchrist (Captain & WK), HH Gibbs, A Symonds, VVS Laxman, RG Sharma, Anirudh Singh, TL Suman, Jaskaran Singh, WPUJC Vaas, RP Singh, PP Ojha

Kolkata Knight Riders: SC Ganguly (Captain), BJ Hodge, CA Pujara, MK Tiwary, OA Shah, AD Mathews, WP Saha (WK), LR Shukla, M Kartik, CK Langeveldt, I Sharma

Ganguly, along with the new coach Dav Whatmore and the entire Kolkata management have been working hard on an entirely new platform, which from the outset has been more transparent and importantly, simpler, compared to the Sudoku grid John Buchanan had asked the squad to solve in order to excel in Twenty20 cricket. Ganguly hasn’t forgotten the confusion and controversy that was created in the first two years of the IPL, but as the team’s seniormost player, he understands he cannot afford to create any further haze when his primary job is to lead the team in the right direction.

“One needs to plan, especially when you are on the park. But I believe in execution. I don’t believe in too many ideas or team meetings,” Ganguly said, with a stern face, after a two-hour long training session at the Bandra-Kurla Complex ground. “I believe planning is 10% and execution 90%.”

So batsmen played with straight, slanting and even upside-down bats as Whatmore offered them the freedom and space to understand what they were doing. At the other end, Wasim Akram mentored the bowlers including Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Mashrafe Mortaza and Jaydev Unadkat, the Under-19 bowler. Clearly, there was a sea change in the way the training session went about in the past.

In the first two years, various coaches would be spotted, busy noting down various things, just like a nurse records a patient’s heartbeat, pulse etc. The paraphernalia was conspicuously absent today, replaced by more word-of-mouth signals, creating a different kind of buzz.

“I would like to leave the player to play to his strengths. That’s how everybody has played and been successful. Maybe you can just tell them the amount of runs needed on the board or what has to be chased,” Ganguly said. “Other than that, if I keep changing (the player’s style) at this minute, it’s not going to help.”

While the majority of the teams managed to devise the right processes, along with the right combinations in the first two years of the IPL, Kolkata were affected by a lack of clarity. As a consequence they have underperformed in first two editions. Still, there is hope. Ask Adam Gilchrist, the Deccan Chargers captain, who said he could relate to his opponent’s circumstances as he had been in the same spot that Kolkata now find themselves in: bottom of the barrel.

“I know that feeling. I’ve started the tournament like that before,” Gilchrist said, denying the opening clash of the IPL tomorrow was a mismatch considering Deccan, the defending champions, are playing last year’s wooden-spoon holders. “I don’t think you can take it for granted that there are any mismatches in the tournament. Everyone starts afresh.”

Ganguly has been stressing the same in his interactions with the squad, out in the open and behind closed doors. It is now up to the players to go out and express themselves.