IPL -8 : KKR Begin Their Title Defence In Style, Beat MI by 7 wickets in Opener

08 April, Kolkata

In the opening match of the 8th IPL cricket tournament at Eden Gardens ,, Kolkata, Wednesday, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders won by seven wickets .

KKR chased down the 169 target posted by Mumbai Indian with nine balls remaining. It was a dominating performance from KKR.

Morne Morkel of KKR was adjudged man of the Match for his excellent bowling performance. Morkel had bagged two wickets by giving 18 runs in 4 overs.

KKR had elected to field after winning the toss against Mumbai Indians.

For KKR Rohit Sharma Played outstanding knock of 98 off 65 balls to lift Mumbai’s sagging morale after they lost wickets early on in the innings. Rohit took his time before cracking eye-catching strokes. Anderson too gave a good account of himself with a crunching fiftyfive..

However Goutam Gambir’s half-century helped Kolkata Knight Riders to start their IPL campaign on a high with a facile win. While chasing down a competitive target, Gambhir essayed a series of fluent shots to keep the scorecard ticking. Gambhir took the attack to even the main spinner in the opposition ranks, Harbjan and collected boundaries. On the other hand, Manish Pandey gave Gambhir good support with a quick-fire innings. Once Gambhir was dismissed, SuryaKunar Yadav steered Kolkata home. . Yadav scored 46 off 20 Balls.

Mumbai didn’t help their cause by dropping a slew of chances.