Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders who hosted Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens in their Indian Premier League opener beat the visitors by nine wickets, here on Sunday.
KKR captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to field first. KKR were without their spin talisman Sunil Narine.
KKR opted to choose Australia’s Brad Hogg and John Hastings in place of Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and South Africa's Morne Morkel. Gambhir also gave New Zealand's Colin Munro a chance in the playing XI along with West Indies' Andre Russell.
DD continued their poor form, as they lost one wicket after another before finally being all out for a mere 98 runs in 17.4 overs. Quinton de Kock, who was the first person to depart after scoring 17 runs off 10 deliveries, was DD's highest run getter. DD skipper Zaheer Khan scored four runs in 9 balls before getting dismissed.
Out of 11 players, only three players apart from De Kock, namely Sanju Samson (15 from 13), Pawan Negi (11 from 19) and Chris Morris (11 from 9) were able to reach double figures. This was Daredevils' lowest total at the Eden Gardens.
KKR bowlers enjoyed playing their first match in front of the home crowd and it reflected in their composure throughout the first innings. Windies pacer Andre Russell gave KKR the early breakthroughs that Gambhir and company were looking for. The 27-year-old took three wickets for 24 runs in his spell of 3 overs, bowling at an economy rate of 8.00. Aussie seamer John Hastings had to perform, especially since he was keeping Morne Morkel out of the KKR line-up, and he did prove his worth.
The 30-year-old took two wickets for just six runs in his spell of 2.4 overs. He bowled at a remarkable economy rate of 2.25 and also bowled a maiden over.
Aussie chinaman spinner Brad Hogg also proved his credentials at the age of 45, as he took three wickets for 19 runs in his spell of 4 overs. He bowled at an economy rate of 4.75 and Hogg also managed to bowl a maiden over. Indian spinner Piyush Chawla bowled brilliantly, as he too took two wickets for 21 runs in his spell of 4 overs, bowling at an economy rate of 5.25.
Kolkata Knight Riders needed 99 runs to win their opening match against the Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens. The home crowd chanted 'Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo' & 'Ami KKR' as KKR dominated the DD.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa gave KKR a rollicking start as the duo added 69 runs for the opening wicket in 9.4 overs before Uthappa was caught by Chris Morris off Amit Mishra for 35. Thereafter, Gambhir (38) and Manish Pandey (15) played with ease to steer KKR to a nine-wicket win with 35 balls to spare.
