The first match of IPL edition 8 was a cracker of an affair, with Mumbai Indians going up against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. In reply to Mumbai’s 168/3, Kolkata scored 170/3 taking the cake by 7 wickets on Wednesday.
In reply to the decent enough 169 set by Mumbai Indians after an initial struggle, Uthappa and Gambhir walked out to begin the chase for the Kolkata side. Gambhir got a lifeline in the second over itself, when he was dropped by Tare, but the Mumbai side breathed easy when they trapped the other opener Uthappa for 9, Anderson shining with the ball, too.
Manish Pandey was the next man in, who kickstarted the party with a four and a six, announcing his arrival straightaway. At the end of 5 overs, KKR managed 32/1, requiring 137 runs required from 15 overs, with 9 wickets in hand. Gambhir got into the groove, taking the score to 85/1 in 10 overs, 84 runs required from 60 balls, the required run rate just above 8.
Soon enough, Pandey fell to Harbhajan bringing Suryakumar Yadav in. Gambhir was dropped yet again, in the 14th over, but this time MI pulled it back, dismissing him after he got to his half century, taken by Bumrah in the 15th over for 57. Yusuf Pathan was the new man in. At the end of 15 overs, the score was 129/3, with KKR requiring 40 runs from 30 balls.
Yadav took the bowling to task, smashing three sixes in the 17th over, to make bridge the gap between the runs required and balls available, threatening to finish it off earlier than expected. Pathan (14) and Yadav (46) seemed to be in a hurry, wrapping up the match at 170/3.
Earlier, the encounter began with Gautam Gambhir winning the toss for KKR and electing to bowl first. Rohit Sharma and Aaron Finch took guard against Umesh Yadav and it was an early blow for the Mumbai side as Morne Morkel got Finch for 5 in the very second over, bringing Tare into the middle.
Rohit Sharma began doing what the doctor ordered, slamming Yadav for three boundaries. Tare followed suit, but Shakib al Hasan’s introduction into the bowling attack managed to give KKR the breakthrough they were looking for in the form of Tare for 7. At the end of the 5th over, the score was 37/2. Rayudu was the next man in, but he played a blink and miss innings, wrapping up his stay in the 6th over, taken by Morkel for 0.
Corey Anderson was the next man to walk in and together with skipper Sharma, took the score to 57/3 in 10 overs.The duo continued on firefighting mode, with the Kolkata bowlers sharp as ever. Sharma continued putting up a brave front, notching up the first half century of this edition, MI crossing 100, taking the score to 101/3 in 15 overs. Sharma began dispatching across the ropes, as did Anderson closing the MI scorecard at 168/3.
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