Knight Riders start campaign with win
Kolkata Knight Riders got off to the perfect start to their season with a convincing victory over the Deccan Chargers in Mumbai.
The Chargers won the toss and put the Kolkata Knight Riders into bat. It seemed to be the right decision as they picked up four wickets inside the Quick start overs and reduced the Knight Riders to just 38 runs at the six over mark. It was important for the Kolkata side to prevent any further damage at that point. Owais Shah and Angelo Mathews provided the perfect response. The duo batted responsibly and played out the next few overs, picking up runs at every opportunity without taking much risk. The cautious approach helped them keep wickets intact, going into the Extreme Performance overs. They added 40 runs in that period, pushing the total to 161 at the end of 20 overs.
Deccan Chargers got off to a flying start in their run chase, with skipper Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman sharing a 61 run opening stand off just 35 balls. Despite losing Laxman, the Chargers continued to make progress and moved into a stronger position after 11 overs as reflected in the Castrol Index worm. But things took an ugly turn from that point as they lost the wickets of Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds in quick succession. The slump continued in the Extreme Performance overs with the Chargers losing another three wickets, leaving them almost no chance of making a comeback. They finished with 150 for seven at the end of 20 overs, losing by 11 runs.
Angelo Mathews was the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 65 off 46 balls that was achieved with a Batting Momentum of 92. He also picked up the important wicket of Rohit Sharma at a crucial stage.
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