The Deccan Chargers called it a contest between unequals — the strongest and the weakest. The best versus the worst. It was a contest between David and Goliath. And as ever David slayed Goliath. The Kolkata Knight Riders prevailed by 11 runs. It was probably an indication that last year’s worst will be this year’s best — an IPL trend so far.
But in the beginning it was a different story altogether.
It appeared the IPL III opener would be a massacre of the lambs. Poor Shah Rukh. Sad Dada. Who can stem the rot in Knight Riders? That is what one thought as Kolkata got off to a horrendous start.
A lopsided contest was in the offing as the Knight Riders had slumped to 0 for two, with skipper Sourav Ganguly and Manoj Tiwary back in the dugout. Soon it was 31 for 4.
The best thing that could be said, at that stage, about the Kokata innings was that it could have been worse. The early wickets and the subsequent tailspin was stemmed by the two foreign recruits of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Angelo Mathews (65 not out) and Owais Shah (58 not out) were involved in a 130-run fifth wicket association. But their partnership was a rather spluttering struggle towards a face-saving total than an all-out onslaught against the Deccan bowlers. But in the end, it turned out to be a match-winning effort.
The win was not without the inherent thrills of the T20 format. Kolkata conceded the worst possible start to the Chargers, as Adam Gilchrst and VVS Laxman put on a respectable partnership as the Kolkata side lived up to their billing by dropping catches, one after the other. But incisive bowling from Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, LR Shukla and Charl Langveldt helped their side stage an unexpected fightback.
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