Dubai got lucky this time, with the much written about IPL beginning its glamorous campaign in the sizzling hotspot. Kickstarting the affair on a perfect note was KKR, winning the opening tie against defending champions Mumbai Indians by 41 runs on Wednesday.
What initially looked like a cakewalk, thanks to the just average total of 163 for Mumbai Indians soon turned around into a disaster. Opening the proceedings for the Mumbai Indians were Aditya Tare and Mike Hussey, who looked steady till the fourth over, scoring at a little over 4 runs an over. However, the mystery spin by Sunil Narine changed the game for the Mumbai Indians, with Hussey getting clean bowled for 3. Ambati walked into the middle and carried on till the 7th over, but then Tare fell prey to Shakib, departing for 24 off 22. Rohit Sharma was the new man in for the Mumbai Indians, but bowed down just after helping his team get past the 100-run mark. Morne Morkel had his fish in the form of Rohit Sharma, who walked back scoring 27 off 20.
The next over saw the set-Rayudu fall to Narine scoring 43 off 38, trying to up the ante. Corey played a blink-and-miss innings, Narine striking again, removing him for 2 off 8 deliveries. CM Gautam was the next man to join Pollard, but his stay didn’t last long either, as his wicket tumbled in the last over, with the Kolkata Knight Riders wrapping things up with a 41 run win.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and chose to set a total for the Mumbai Indians to defend. With the toss under the belt, KKR openers Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir walked out to take charge. KKR faced its first blow in the form of Gambhir (0), bowled by Malinga in the second over. This brought in Manish Pandey to the middle and the duo did damage control to perfection. While Kallis took uncharacteristic risks slamming 72 off 46 balls, he was given ample assistance by Manish Pandey, who wasn’t far behind in belting 64 off 53. They managed to steady things after a rocky start and took KKR to 135 in 17 overs, before Pandey fell prey to Malinga. Uthappa was the next quick wicket to tumble, in the very next over, falling to Zaheer Khan for 1.
After Uthappa departed post a no-show, Shakib Al Hasan walked into the middle to join Kallis. That was short-lived as Kallis was done in by Malinga and Shakib too made his way to the dug-out after a disappointing error in judgement, deceived by Malinga for 1. However, a late cameo by Suryakumar, who belted 13 off 5 ensured that KKR posted a healthy total of 163-5 in their stipulated 20 overs. Â