The Hindu : Sport : Night belongs to Knight Riders

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Night belongs to Knight Riders

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

McCullum’s brazen century blows away Royal Challengers

McCullum’s knock included 10 fours and 13 sixes
Ajit Agarkar picked up three wickets

— Photo: PTI

GREAT BEGINNING: Sourav Ganguly followed up his opening batting partner’s blistering knock with some good bowling to ensure that the Knight Riders got off to a winning start.

Bangalore: A Kiwi typhoon rippled through the Bangalore skies as Brendon McCullum etched his name on a warm Friday night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. McCullum’s brazen unbeaten 158, the highest in the history of Twenty20 cricket, proved to be too strong a gale force for hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The Sourav Ganguly-led Kolkata Knight Riders carved out a 140-run victory in the inaugural DLF Indian Premier League match that turned out to be a lopsided contest. Chasing 223 for victory, Royal Challengers mustered only 82 in 15.1 overs.

McCullum’s blistering knock, which included 10 boundaries and 13 sixes, helped the Knight Riders post 222 for three from 20 overs and derailed Rahul Dravid’s best-laid plans after the Royal Challengers skipper opted to bowl. The death rattle of the Royal Challengers innings was evident from the time Dravid’s hoick connected air and Ishant Sharma breached ‘The Wall’.

Steady stream of wickets

Dravid was gone for a mere two and the score read four for one in 1.1 overs. The rest did not inspire confidence. Virat Kohli was castled by seamer Ashok Dinda and Jacques Kallis, after hoisting Agarkar for six, found Murali Kartik at mid-on off the next delivery.

Wasim Jaffer, Mark Boucher and Cameron White too perished with their mix of tentative and ambitious shots as they kept blinking at a galloping required run-rate. Agarkar picked three wickets but Ishant with a combined spell of 3-0-7-1 was the pick. His pace and angle tested the home side’s batting mettle.

Earlier ‘Man of the Match’ McCullum never gave a hint of the subsequent mayhem. He was all tentative feet and flailing arms as Praveen Kumar bowled a tight first over. Both McCullum and Ganguly scampered to either ends, riding on leg-byes.

Lone false step

The tide, however, turned in the second over as McCullum slammed Zaheer Khan for 18 runs (4, 4, 6 and 4). The sheer power in his forearms ensured that even when he miscued an attempted whip over mid-wicket, the edge flew over third man for six! It perhaps was the lone false step in a knock that injected adrenaline into the visitors’ innings.

Meanwhile Ganguly swatted Praveen for four before succumbing to Zaheer’s improved second spell. The ball swung in and seamed off to kiss the edge. The openers shared a 61-run stand in 5.2 overs and next man Ricky Ponting, built on it with a 51-run second-wicket partnership with McCullum. Ponting clattered Kallis into the stands but the South African all-rounder had his revenge soon.

McCullum meanwhile bruised the bowlers. Ashley Noffke’s first over cost 22 while Cameron White’s first was plundered for 24. McCullum besides the lofted shots, also showed the cheekiness of a guerrilla fighter as he did the Mariller scoop off Kallis.

Merry ways

He reached his century with a brace off Noffke and then reverted to his merry ways, as his sixers put the earlier inaugural fireworks to the shade. His century came in 53 balls and the next fifty off a mere 17deliveries while his successive partners David Hussey and Mohammed Hafiz toiled in the shadows. Fittingly McCullum hoisted the last delivery of the innings bowled by Praveen for six.

The scores: Kolkata Knight Riders: S. Ganguly c Kallis b Zaheer 10, B. McCullum (not out) 158, R. Ponting c Praveen b Kallis 20, D. Hussey c White b Noffke 12, Md. Hafeez (not out) 5; Extras: (b-4, lb-4, w-9) 17; Total: (for three in 20 overs) 222.

Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-112, 3-174.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Praveen 4-0-38-0, Zaheer 4-0-38-1, Noffke 4-0-40-1, Kallis 4-0-48-1, Joshi 3-0-26-0, White 1-0-24-0.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: R. Dravid b Ishant 2, W. Jaffer c Ponting b A. Dinda 6, V. Kohli b Dinda 1, J. Kallis c M. Kartik b Agarkar 8, C. White c Saha b Agarkar 6, M. Boucher c Kartik b Ganguly 7, B. Akhil c Ponting b Agarkar 0, A. Noffke (run out) 9, Praveen (not out) 18, Zaheer b Ganguly 3, S. Joshi c McCullum b Shukla 3; Extras: (lb-8, w-11) 19; Total: (in 15.1 overs) 82.

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-9, 3-24, 4-24, 5-38, 6-38, 7-43, 8-57, 9-70.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Dinda 3-0-9-2, Ishant 3-0-7-1, Agarkar 4-0-25-3, Ganguly 4-0-21-2, Shukla 1.1-0-12-1.

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IPL 1st match in Bangalore

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