What an amazing game of cricket which went down till the final few overs.
Unfortunately Rohit Sharma's stellar 98 went in vain for Mumbai, thanks to the initial partnership between Gambhir-Pandey for Kolkata, which swung the game in the home teams' favour.
And it was Surya Kumar Yadav's late exploits with the bat later on which clinched a humdinger of a tie for Kolkata. Dominant performance by the defending champions tonight.
Morne Morkel of Kolkata gets the Man-of-the-Match award for his fine 2 for 18 in 4 overs.
KKR - 170 for 3 (18.3 ovrs) win by seven wickets.
WINNING SHOT! Yadav (46*) hits that through covers for a four, KKR have won by seven wickets.
Just one big hit needed!
3 from 10 needed now.
Vinay Kumar is in to bowl.
#KKR 1 Shot away from winning #KKRvMI
— Jatin Israni (@JatinKiDuniya) April 8, 2015
Over 18
KKR - 165 for 3
101 meters shot...amazing hit!
Yadav reaches 40.
BIG HIT! Yadav carts that over mid-wicket into the stands....KKR are within touching distance now!
12 from 14...should be a canter now for KKR.
WHADDA SHOT! Malinga is hit behind sqquare-leg by Pathan...KKR are winning here!
Over 17
KKR - 151 for 3
Expensive over.
SIX AGAIN! Bumrah is being taken apart, another big hit, this time from Pathan.
KKR - 151 for 3
Expensive over.
SIX AGAIN! Bumrah is being taken apart, another big hit, this time from Pathan.
I think suryakumar yadav is a steve smith of kkr @KKRiders #KKRvMI
— G.V.HARI (@Vengad_hari) April 8, 2015
Yadav is on 33.
24 from 19 needed.
SIX AGAIN! This time over the leg-side, Bumrah's full-toss is dispatched off with ease!
No wonder Yadav is counted as a stellar talent!
SIX! Great timing from Yadav to send it into the cleaners...amazing hit!
Dot ball to Yadav.
Bumrah back into the attack.
38 from 24 needed.
Over 16
TIME OUT taken.
KKR- 131 for 3
End of over.
Required run-rate 9.
Pathan-Yadav can go for it now...the stage is set!
Malinga steams in.
Over 15
Gautam Gambhir walks off to a huge roar and the roar continues with Yusuf Pathan's entry #PepsiIPL #KKRvMI
— Anand Subramaniam (@28anand) April 8, 2015
KKR - 131 for 3
End of over.
41 from 31 needed.
Can the duo finish Mumbai off here?
Yusuf Pathan on strike.
SIX! Yadav glances a beauty over the fine-leg ropes...amazing shot!
KKR - 121 for 3
Gambhir goes after a fine 57.
WICKET! And Gambhir is gone, he hooks it into Rayadu's hands at the boundary.
FOUR! Gambhir's shot trickles over the long-off boundary...great shot!
Over 14
KKR - 117 for 2
End of over.
Gambhir is on 53.
8.68 the required run-rate.
57 off 40 needed...Gambhir is playing the spinners in domineering fashion.
The Gambhir-Pandey partnership has swung the game in KKR's way...as for now!
Harbhajan to bowl the over.
Over 13
KKR- 108 for 2
Nine off the over.
"A flatter to deceive" knock from Manish Pandey...... #KKRvMI #PepsiIPL
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 8, 2015
Gambhir has timed his knock cleverly.
The Mumbai batsman needs to play excellent foil to Gambhir now...KKR can win this one now!
WHADDA SHOT! And Yadav times it over fine-leg for a beauty...SIX!
71 off 48 needed.
New batsman in is Surya Kumar Yadav and Vinay Kumar to bowl the over.
Over 12
KKR - 98 for 1
Pandey goes for a fine 40.
WICKET! And Pandey skies it into Pollard's hands at deep-mid wicket...MI get a breakthrough.
Gambhir (46*) needs four more for a well compiled fifty.
72 from 50 needed.
Harbhajan back into the attack.
Over 11
KKR - 94 for 1
Single off the last ball by Pandey.
Gambhir has risen to the occassion...can he win this one for KKR?
77 from 57 needed now.
Malinga seems to have run out of ideas.
SIX! A full toss is dispatched by Pandey off Malinga into the leg-side stands...amazing hit!
Over 10
KKR - 85 for 1
This is extraordinary from Gambir , spinners took into the cleaners !!! #KKRvMI
— M.Idrees Khan (@Imidreeskhan) April 8, 2015
FOUR and FOUR! Two in a row by Gambhir...awesome footwork!
Harbhajan fumes!
DROPPED! Diificult it was for Anderson, but he couldn't hold on to it, reprieve for Pandey.
Over 9
KKR- 74 for 1
Two off the last ball.
97 off 67 needed for KKR.
Captain Gambhir is looking in amazing form.
And the fifty-run partnership is up.
WHADDA SHOT! Pandey hooks Ojha into the stands...amazing hit!
Over 8
KKR - 62 for 1
FOUR AGAIN! Gambhir beautifully glides it towards the point region...he looks hungry for runs today!
116 more needed to win for KKR...can Captain Gambhir do it for them?
FOUR! Gambhir smacks Harbhajan first ball to the long-off boundary...way to go!
Over 7
Single for last ball 7 overs score is 49-1 Its time for Stragetic timeout #KKRvMI #FastestTweetFirst
— JP Singh (@Jpsingh037) April 8, 2015
KKR - 49 for 1
End of over.
SIX! Third ball from Ojha is battered by Gambhir..way to go cap!
Over 6
KKR - 38 for 1
Six off the over
FOUR! Pandey greets Bumrah with a shot that flies through covers...well timed!
Over 5
KKR - 32 for 1
End of over.
And Anderson ends it with another beauty.
FOUR! And Pandey's edge sails towards square-third man for a cheeky boundary...lucky lucky!
SIX! Pandey smacks Anderson over Long-off...Good hit!
Over 4
KKR - 19 for 1
End of over.
FOUR! Gambhir punches Vinay to backward short leg for a fine boundary.
Over 3
KKR - 13 for 1
And Anderson ends it with a beauty of a delivery to Pandey.
Gautam Gambhir's bat breaks into two while playing shot. His Bat Is Made In China. ;) #KKRvMI #MIvsKKR #IPL8 pic.twitter.com/WodeNvjyN9
— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) April 8, 2015
KKR - 13 for 1
Uthappa walks off for 9.
WICKET! And it is second time unlucky for Uthappa, he perishes after edging one at slips to Harbhajan.
DROPPED AGAIN! Anderson fails to hold on to a catch hit straight at him by Uthappa...another life line for Kolkata!
And Anderson retaliates with a fine delivery that beats Uthappa on the off.
That sailed over mid-wicket.
SIX! And the first big hit comes off Anderson's bowling...Go Uthappa.
Over 2
KKR - 5 for 0
End of over.
DROPPED! And Gambhir's edge is let off by wicket-keeper Tare, early reprieve for Kolkata.
Kolkata have started sedately.
#Record : Rohit sharma becomes the second batsman after Suresh Raina to record 3000 runs in #IPL #KKRvMI #IPL8 #IPL2015 #PepsiIPL #MI
— Thala My Hero (@iamRajcitizen) April 8, 2015
And Gambhir's bat breaks into two...Vinay Kumar probably bowled a ripper!
Vinay Kumar to Gambhir.
Over 1
KKR - 3 for 0
Three of the over.
That delivery was 146.7 km/hr..speed demon!
GOOD BALL! Fine out-swinger by Malinga which has Uthappa flailing.
WIDE BALL! First extra of the innings.
Gambhir has to play a captain's knock tonight.
Single.
Malinga to Uthappa.
And Kolkata's innings starts...Lasith Malinga to bowl the first over.
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Rohit Sharma's pristine 98 not-out remains the bed-rock of Mumbai's innings. While the Mumbai lad showed great technique to play out a fine knock, even Anderson's 55 ensured that Mumbai have a sizeable total on hand now. Let us wait and watch as to whether Kolkata can pull this one off in front of their beloved fan base.
Over 20
A bit harsh on Rohit who remains unbeaten on 98, while Anderson is not-out on 55.
98 - Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 98 came from 41 scoring shots. Here is his wagon wheel. Scattered. @mipaltan #KKRvMI pic.twitter.com/nSuiqQkoYb
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) April 8, 2015
MI - 168 for 3
SIX! And Anderson slams it into the crowd to end the innings.
Well he may miss out on a hundred thanks to Anderson taking strike.
After 5 months of Aus tour, these grounds appear like ping-pong tables! #KKRvMI #IPL
— Jackartoons (@sanket_jack) April 8, 2015
FOUR! Rohit is on 97 now...cut through square-leg.
25 balls needed to reach MI's last fifty.
DROPPED! And he is let off with a dropped catch near the same region.
SIX! Massive heave by Anderson over the leg-side boundary..Shakib is shaking!
Over 19
MI - 147 for 3
End of Russell's over.
Rohit is on 93 and Anderson is on 39.
SIX AGAIN! Rohit hits a monster...way to go!
That's why Utthapa was not there in Indian worldcup squad Kidding! He has been very good with the bat, but dropped it here#IPL8 #KKRvMI
— Nishad Dixit (@Nishad_Dixit) April 8, 2015
SIX! 100 partnership up, that one sails over the ropes...Anderson on course for his fifty after that hit.
Over 18
MI - 132 for 3
End of over.
FOUR! Anderson gets into the act, pummels it over Shakib to the fence.
Rohit (86*) needs 14 more for a fine century.
Spin has not worked for KKR so far.
FOUR! Shakib is welcomed with a fine hit to the boundary by Rohit.
Can Mumbai pump in runs in the last three overs?
Over 17
MI - 122 for 3
Single to end the over.
FOUR AND SIX! Two superb hits at mid-wicket and Rohit is in full flow now!
Meanwhile Narine is back in the attack.
73 off 65 balls is the current run-partnership.
Last time @ImRo45 played at Kolkata, He scored 264 runs in 173 balls in an ODI v @OfficialSLC. His last 50 came in 15 balls. #KKRvMI
— Dillip Mohanty (@dkmohanty) April 8, 2015
Over 16
Mumbai look on course to hammer it in the final overs.
MI - 109 for 3
Two off the last ball by Anderson.
In just 14 odd overs, Sidhu has overleaped what Shoaib Akhtar did in the entire world cup. Ear-bleeding stuff. #KKRvMI #IPL8
— Tarish Bhatt (@TARISHplace) April 8, 2015
Rohit is on 69.
FOUR! Banged by Rohit through the deep-cover area, great shot!
LIFE LINE for Anderson.
DROPPED ! Russell drops a sitter at deep-mid wicket, will it haunt KKR?
Shakib runs in.
Over 15
Rohit boost for MI!
MI - 101 for 3
Expensive over.
FOUR! Pristine timing by Rohit to glide the ball to the square-third man region....AWESOME!
SIX! That has disappeared into the crowd over mid-wicket, what a shot Rohit!
FOUR and FOUR! Rohit reaches his fifty, slaps Yadav for two consecutive boundaries, well timed!
Anderson has to stick around if Mumbai hope to reach a huge total.
Surprising to see Anderson play Chawla with such authority - thought he couldn't read googlies #IPL8 #IPL2015 #KKRvMI
— Sumit Chakraberty (@chakraberty) April 8, 2015
Over 14
Can Mumbai launch into Kolkata in the latter overs?
MI - 80 for 3
Four off the over.
Rohit is on 46, four short of a fifty.
And Narine jogs in for another over.
Rohit struggling against Piyush Chawla. This is what happens when two players keep going in and out of the national team. #KKRvMI
— GovindS (@LordRaavana) April 8, 2015
Over 13
MI - 76 for 3
End of Over
FOUR! Anderson smacks the last ball with great tenacity.
A hint of drizzle at Eden tonight?
Umesh Yadav is turning out to be an excellent outfield catcher... had held 8 catches in the recently concluded #CWC15 #PepsiIPL #KKRvMI
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 8, 2015
Sharma looks strong on 43.
Chawla to bowl the 12th over.
Poor Rayudu, was warming the bench for a good 2 months and Morne bowls a peach to him. #KKRvMI #IPL
— Aditya (@forwardshortleg) April 8, 2015
Over 12
MI - 69 for 3
Andre Russell conceedes three off the over.
Over 11
MI - 66 for 3
End of Over.
FOUR! Last ball is hit to the boundary by Anderson.
Rohit is on 39.
Chawla to Rohit...single.
Over 10
MI - 57 for 3
Three of the over.
Russell looks as accurate as ever in this spell.
Onus is on Rohit to play out a big one now.
And it is Russell to bowl the ninth over.
Lot of cracks in the pitch, can KKR's spinners use it to their benefit?
Over 9
TIME OUT taken.
Mumbai need to stabilize their batting for the rest of the innings, KKR are looking red-hot, especially Morkel!
MI - 54 for 3
End of over.
Narine is taking quite some treatment here.
FOUR! Cut away towards third-man by Rohit...fine timing!
Fifteen dot balls by Morkel so far...awesome bowling!
Narine to Anderson, dot ball.
ME TERI DUSHMAN, DUSHMAN TU MERA, ME NAAGIN TU SAPERA. #IndiaKaTyohaarBegins #PepsiIPL #KKRvsMI pic.twitter.com/H0wV3ns9q7
— iReadophile (@Readophile) April 8, 2015
Over 8
MI - 48 for 3
Single to end the over.
FOUR! Cracked through the off-side cover region, Anderson has finally opened his account.
Another peach from Morkel, Anderson can just dangle his bat at a fine out-going delivery.
Rohit (29*) will have to play out a good knock tonight.
Morkel is back into the attack.
Over 7
MI - 42 for 3
End of Over.
Dot ball to Anderson, the New Zealand star has still not opened his account yet.
Can he shut up critics tonight?
Much ado was made about Narine's bowling action prior to the tournament.
#FIRST LOOK #IPL #KKRVSMI #MISS YOU SACHIN SIR pic.twitter.com/O3wIcWhoOS
— Nitin Sachinist (@nitinsachinist) April 8, 2015
Meanwhile Sachin Tendulkar spotted during the match!
And FOUR! Rohit cuts him for a boundary through square-leg!
Mystery spinner Narine comes in to bowl.
Over 6
KKR have MI on the mat as for now.
MI - 37 for 3
Great over.
A wicket maiden for Morkel.
A 144.0 km/hr delivery to Anderson!
Morkel is spewing venom here!
New batsman Anderson.
MI - 37 for 3
KKR are in this now!
WICKET! Rayadu goes for a two-ball duck to Morkel, edges one into Pathan's hands at slips.
Over 5
End of Over.
MI -37 for 2
How many runs will A TARE score in this innings? #cwc15 #KKR vs #MI https://t.co/HGIBaxhsQf pic.twitter.com/xyTBZt2iDd
— MatchupCricket.com (@ZootrSports) April 8, 2015
Tare is out for 7
WICKET! And Tare hits it straight into Yadav's hands at mid-wicket.
SIX! Sharma hoicks the third ball into the stands...grand welcome for Shakib!
KKR introduce Shakib-al-Hasan into the attack.
Over 4
Mumbai will bank on Rohit to give them a solid start here.
MI - 28 for 1
End of Over.
And a single by Tare off the last ball.
Morkel hits back with a peach of a delivery that beats Tare hands down.
The ball raced through backward point.
Tare will look to give Sharma solid company at crease.
Morkel to Tare...FOUR!
Over 3
MI - 21 for 1
End of Over.
Well played Sharma!
FOUR! And the last ball is dispatched through the packed off-side cordon to the boundary.
Two dot balls and the fourth ball is again a FOUR! Sharma hits a slower one through the cover region.
FOUR! Sharma hits a first-ball four near square-leg off Yadav, the former looks well set as for now.
Over 2
MI - 9 for 1.
End of Over.
Two dot balls to Sharma by Morkel.
Aditya Tare is the new batsman and is on non-strike.
Finch's shot was a top-edge which flew to Yadav at Deep-Square leg.
MI -8 for 1
KKR have their first wicket here.
WICKET! Finch's shot flies straight into the hands of Umesh Yadav, he departs for 5.
And Finch greets him with a four towards fine-leg.
Morne Morkel is to bowl the second over.
Over 1
A calm start for Mumbai.
And Rohit Sharma and Aaron Finch are opening the batting for Mumbai
The stadium is virtually a sea of gold tonight...Mumbai Indians' fans definitely look outnumbered!
Mumbai Indians - Rohit Sharma (C), Aaaron Finch, Ambati Rayudu, Aditya Tare, Vinay Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Pragyan Ojha,Corey Anderson, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga.
Kolkata Knight Riders - Gautam Gambhir (C), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel,Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell,
Here is the playing eleven from both sides.
And KC Cariappa has not been picked for tonight's match, Kolkata to go with Sunil Narine in the spin department.
Overseas player list - Kolkata have Russell, Narine, Shakib and Morkel whereas Mumbai have Anderson, Finch, Pollard and Malinga as their foreign imports.
By the looks of it it is a fresh pitch and it remains to be seen as to whether Mumbai can pile on early runs.
Gambhir has won the toss and has elected to bowl first.
And Toss Time is almost here.
Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens, with the match starting at 20:00 IST.
overage of Match 1 of IPL 8 which hasYes, though the opening ceremony on Tuesday evening was out of sorts and failed to live up to hype, still this game will in all probability bring the focus back on the cricket field.
Despite having super spinner, Sunil Narine in their ranks, Kolkata have the mystery factor in KC Cariappa who was bought for a price tag of RS 2.4 crore, and is touted to be their 'X Factor'.
Let us wait and watch if Sachin Tendulkar's pep talk on Tuesday may give the required boost to Mumbai in tonight's match.
If Kolkata have a packed stadium (and probably Sharukh Khan!) rooting for them, then Mumbai cannot be discounted for thanks to the pep talk they recieved from none other than Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday.
Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, are the Kolkata and Mumbai captains respectively, and it will be known as to whether the duo are good leaders or not.
Mumbai have a world class batting line-up which has the likes of Rohit, Aaron Finch, Ambati Rayudu,Keiron Pollard and Corey Anderson, whereas the bowling looks equally impressive with Lasith Malinga and Josh Hazlewood expected to spear-head the attack.
Kolkata on the other hand have Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel as their star players, and are expected to fight tooth and nail. Uthappa who was last season's Orange Cap winner may play a crucial part for Kolkata tonight.
While a typical IPL belter is expected for tonight's match, still do expect Kolkata to pull off a rabbit out of their hat, thanks to their spin bowling options.
So it is game on as for now!
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