Indian Premier League – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Bangalore Royal Challengers
by Juris Graney
Can Kolkata repeat early performance against Bangalore?
Sunday, March 14, 4am EST (4pm Kolkata Local Time)
In what was touted as a foregone conclusion before a ball had been bowled in the opening match of this year’s Indian Premier League, the Kolkata Knight Riders were expected to capitulate to last year’s champions, Deccan Chargers.
What unfolded was the complete opposite and Kolkata got off to the best possible start in a tournament that has become known for their cellar dwelling antics.
Last year Kolkata were humbled by Deccan by eight wickets, this time around however it was the Knight Riders who triumphed in what looked to be a fait accompli in the fifth over.
All looked lost for Kolkata as Chaminda Vaas knocked over Manoj Tiwary (0) and Sourav Ganguly (0) in the first over to leave them floundering at 2/0 but they managed to set a competitive total of 161 runs thanks to a brilliant 130-run partnership between Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews (65 not out) and England reject Owais Shah (58 not out).
Mathews and Shah cleverly played early conservative innings before piling on the runs late in the match.
In reply the game again looked to be buried with Adam Gilchrist (54) and VVS Laxman (22) putting on 61 before a combination of good bowling and poor batting options left Deccan short by 11 runs.
Herschelle Gibbs (19) found a man in the deep, Rohit Sharma (13) became Mathews first wicket of the tournament while Australian bad boy Andrew Symonds (5) failed to come to grips with Ishant Sharma who finished with 1/31 off his four overs.
Charl Langeveldt, who came in for some early stick despite garnering plenty of swing, came back late in the match to record 2/26 and helped contain Deccan.
With their tails in the air Kolkata could be a real handful for Bangalore who have yet to take the field this year.
Last year Bangalore had the upper hand beating them on both occasions they met, the year before it was Kolkata who had the perfect record so with things tied it will be interesting to see who gains the ascendency in this fixture.
Bangalore will be missing Aussie Cameron White, England’s Kevin Pietersen who are both on national duties in New Zealand and Bangladesh respectively and the loss of Ross Taylor might have overshadowed their early tournament form however they can call on Pietersen’s countryman Eoin Morgan and five South Africans Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn and relative unknown Dillon du Preez and Roelof van der Merwe.
It’s hard to discount a team led by Anil Kumble and look to Virat Kohli for local inspiration in this match. Bangalore should be victorious however Kolkata’s explosive start shows that anything can happen in this tournament.
If you enjoyed this article then get full access to all our other features plus a 50% bonus when you sign up with us by clicking on this link
