Chasing a target of 138, the unbeaten duo of Dwayne Bravo (64) and Robin Uthappa (37) added 113 runs for the fourth wicket and guided the visitors to victory with eight balls to spare. The pair arrived at the crease with their team in a spot of bother at 25/3.
Bravo, who has speedily improved in the tournament thus far, smashed eight boundaries and a six in his match-winning knock and ensured that all-rounders Pollock and Nayar were not required in the difficult run-chase amidst a frenzied Kolkata atmosphere. Uthappa played the more unadventurous role but rotated the strike well and picked up a run-a-ball knock of 37 that included five crisp strikes to the fence.
There were early hiccups in the Mumbai dressing room when young opener Ajinkya Rahane (4) flicked the ball straight to midwicket where Ajit Agarkar (1-23) grasped onto a straightforward catch. Six balls later, Ishant Sharma (1-33) produced a fast outswinger that uprooted Sanath Jayasuriya's (18) stumps and triggered an eruption in the crowd.
Manish Pandey (0) tried to rise onto a short delivery from Ashok Dinda (1-12) but could only manage to chop one back to his stumps. The Mumbai Indians were reeling at 25/3 at this juncture and it looked like an unsatisfactory fifth uninterrupted loss was on the cards.
Sourav Ganguly tried as many as seven bowling options but could not hamper the comfortable milking of runs executed by Uthappa and Bravo. The duo looked unruffled and did not face any difficulties going up against the crafty Murali Kartik (0-24), Mohammed Hafeez (0-16), Laxmi Shukla (0-11) besides others.
Earlier, the Kolkata Knight Riders posted a passable total of 137/8 after their captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat first in front of a strong crowd of 80,000 at the Eden Gardens.
The visitors' veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock led the Indians' attack, wrecking the top and middle order of the hosts and not enabling them to gather any momentum whatsoever. The wily old Jayasuriya displayed variation with his orthodox left-arm spin bowling and finished with staggering figures of 3-14 from his four-over spell.
Pollock (2-27), standing in as captain in place of the injured Sachin Tendulkar, did the early damage, removing openers Sourav Ganguly (4) and Brendon McCullum (2) in the very first over on a pitch that looked sporting in contrast to the two-paced dry wicket that had been unanimously damned nine days ago.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla (40 not out; 4x4, 2x6) emerged the top-scorer for the hosts, with a late charge that somewhat salvaged the state of affairs for the Knight Riders.
Skipper Ganguly's run poor of run of form in the IPL continued as he departed in just the third ball of the match to silence the capacity crowd on hand. He edged an away going delivery to Jayasuriya after having hesitantly pulled Pollock for a boundary in just the previous delivery. The Knight Riders suffered another setback two deliveries later when McCullum was trapped LBW by Pollock leaving the hosts reeling at 6-2.
Debabrata Das, making his IPL debut after replacing Wriddhiman Saha, set about to lead the recovery act for the hosts as he received the company of Australian captain Ricky Ponting. The duo added 34 runs for the third wicket before Das' 20-ball cameo came to an end when he played a short pitched delivery from Dwayne Bravo straight into the hands of Robin Uthappa at cover. Das (29) smashed five boundaries and a six.
Ponting (19) and David Hussey (17) then came together and took the side to 60 for 3 at the half-way stage on way to stitch together another 34-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Then followed a middle-order collapse as the Knight Riders lost three quick wickets in the space of just three runs.
Firstly, David Hussey struck a Jayasuriya delivery to Nehra at long-on and then Ponting set for an overambitious run and was run out in the process. The long walk back to the pavilion wrapped up Punter's participation in the inaugural edition of the IPL.
To make matters worse, Mohammed Hafeez (2) edged Jayasuriya behind the wicket, as the Knight Riders were reduced to 77 for 6. Ajit Agarkar (2) also did not last long, as a stunned silence descended over the large stadium. It was Shukla's courageous effort that took the hosts to a decent total at the end.
The Kolkata Knight Riders will next clash against the ever-improving Rajasthan Royals on Thursday when they travel to the beautiful city of Jaipur. The Mumbai Indians on the other hand, will take on the Delhi Daredevils at home on Sunday, May 4.
Tags : IPL, Bravo,Uthappa,indian Premier league, Mumbai Indians,
