Spin was a crucial factor for both teams in the opening game of the Indian Premier League at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. While Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, Gautam Gambhir, had his heart in his mouth when his ace spinner Sunil Narain bowled his first over, Mumbai Indians skipper grimaced as he watched his spin-twins Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha being taken apart by the opposition.
Eventually KKR, the defending champions, stole a march over the challengers with, what the scorebooks can term, an easy win. But, it was not so easy for the holders as MI skipper Rohit Sharma dug deep into his favorite pitch and produced a gem of an innings, 98 unbeaten runs off 65 balls.
In the post-match meeting, he and first time coach Ricky Ponting must be wondering why their other batsmen did not take off on a belter of a track. Gambhir’s ploy of bowling out Morne Morkel in his only spell seem to have worked in the first outing as the tall Proteas got rid of the dangerous Aaron Finch and Ambati Rayudu. MI’s Aditya Tare did not do justice to his own cause by trying too hard and holing out to long-off with little on the scoreboard.
Yadav's cameo
It was a brilliant cameo from a fellow Mumbaikar, Suryakumar Yadav, that lifted KKR’s spirit and got them the first points in the tournament. Yadav is known, in local circles, for his carefree approach and he essayed delightful shots to help his team breast the tape with ease.
There is a long way to go in the tournament and getting the combination right is a key element to success. One cannot find fault with the combination used by MI in their first outing and there will be plenty of soul searching for the team management to do before their next match against Kings XI Punjab this coming Sunday.
They would be pleased with the form of their skipper Sharma who took his team to a fighting total, one that gave his bowlers an opportunity to have a go at the opposition. Another aspect that will cheer the MI think-tank will be Sharma’s responsible approach as he dug in with Kiwi striker Corey Anderson to pull the team out of the woods with a 131-run partnership.
The first few matches are testing times for all teams playing the IPL as they tinker around with their line-ups to find the perfect match and no team wants to peak early in the tournament. The last edition of the IPL saw MI resurrecting itself and making it to the play-offs, after a disastrous opening in the first phase that was played in the United Arab Emirates.
Local talent
The key area that MI will be looking to improve would be contributions from the Indian players. KKR’s thrust, that won them the game, came from local talent and MI will need their domestic lot to stand up and be counted. Relying on a few key players to take the team through to the play-offs can be frightful as form, more often than not, is a very fickle monster.
MI would not worry too much about the rest of the batting that did not fire up in the opening game. Rayudu has tons of talent and the mercurial Kieron Pollard did not get a look-in. Their immediate concern would probably be the bowlers who need to step-up and support their fulcrum, Lasith Malinga.
While no team can be taken for granted in this tournament, MI’s outings against two tough teams, KKR and Kings XI Punjab will give them a chance to test their combination and prepare for a fruitful campaign in the IPL.
in the end, Kolkata Knight Riders (170 for 3) beat Mumbai Indians (168 for 3) by 7 wickets.
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Eventually KKR, the defending champions, stole a march over the challengers with, what the scorebooks can term, an easy win. But, it was not so easy for the holders as MI skipper Rohit Sharma dug deep into his favorite pitch and produced a gem of an innings, 98 unbeaten runs off 65 balls.
In the post-match meeting, he and first time coach Ricky Ponting must be wondering why their other batsmen did not take off on a belter of a track. Gambhir’s ploy of bowling out Morne Morkel in his only spell seem to have worked in the first outing as the tall Proteas got rid of the dangerous Aaron Finch and Ambati Rayudu. MI’s Aditya Tare did not do justice to his own cause by trying too hard and holing out to long-off with little on the scoreboard.
Yadav's cameo
It was a brilliant cameo from a fellow Mumbaikar, Suryakumar Yadav, that lifted KKR’s spirit and got them the first points in the tournament. Yadav is known, in local circles, for his carefree approach and he essayed delightful shots to help his team breast the tape with ease.
There is a long way to go in the tournament and getting the combination right is a key element to success. One cannot find fault with the combination used by MI in their first outing and there will be plenty of soul searching for the team management to do before their next match against Kings XI Punjab this coming Sunday.
They would be pleased with the form of their skipper Sharma who took his team to a fighting total, one that gave his bowlers an opportunity to have a go at the opposition. Another aspect that will cheer the MI think-tank will be Sharma’s responsible approach as he dug in with Kiwi striker Corey Anderson to pull the team out of the woods with a 131-run partnership.
The first few matches are testing times for all teams playing the IPL as they tinker around with their line-ups to find the perfect match and no team wants to peak early in the tournament. The last edition of the IPL saw MI resurrecting itself and making it to the play-offs, after a disastrous opening in the first phase that was played in the United Arab Emirates.
Local talent
The key area that MI will be looking to improve would be contributions from the Indian players. KKR’s thrust, that won them the game, came from local talent and MI will need their domestic lot to stand up and be counted. Relying on a few key players to take the team through to the play-offs can be frightful as form, more often than not, is a very fickle monster.
MI would not worry too much about the rest of the batting that did not fire up in the opening game. Rayudu has tons of talent and the mercurial Kieron Pollard did not get a look-in. Their immediate concern would probably be the bowlers who need to step-up and support their fulcrum, Lasith Malinga.
While no team can be taken for granted in this tournament, MI’s outings against two tough teams, KKR and Kings XI Punjab will give them a chance to test their combination and prepare for a fruitful campaign in the IPL.
in the end, Kolkata Knight Riders (170 for 3) beat Mumbai Indians (168 for 3) by 7 wickets.
