Kolkata KnightRiders gets a consecutive win against Royal Challengers Bangalore on todays match. They have won by 7 wickets with 4 balls to sphere.
Brad Hodge and Manoj tewari scored half centuries for KKR.
After his fire-fighting effort with the bat on Friday, Angelo Mathews starred with the ball for Kolkata Knight Riders to pin down Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens. Bangalore were left to thank Jacques Kallis, who made a mad dash from South Africa after playing the Pro20 final on Friday evening, for holding the innings together after their young batting talent failed.
Bangalore's surprise move to open with Sreevats Goswami didn't work out. The pint-sized Goswami was hemmed in by a series of Charl Langeveldt bouncers, not discomforted by them but unable to score. Goswami looked to back away and heave the ball towards the leg side, connecting once to get a boundary but fell top-edging an attempted cut to third man.
Manish Pandey also didn't replicate the wonderful form of his domestic season, looking tentative in his short stay before his attempt to flat-bat Mathews down the ground ended in a bottom-edge onto the stumps.
Next in Bangalore's youth brigade was Virat Kolhi, talked up by his coach Ryan Jennings as a future Indian captain, but he lasted only four deliveries before striking a dipping delivery from Murali Kartik to deep midwicket. With two deliveries left in the Powerplay, Bangalore were down to 20 for 3.
Kolkata's new-ball bowlers had done their job, and they were backed up by some intelligent bowling from Mathews and Kartik to put Bangalore on the mat. Mathews sent down several slower bouncers which the batsmen struggled to pick, and Kartik varied his pace and effectively used the assistance provided by the track.
It was Kartik who provided the fervent Eden Gardens crowd its next chance to scream. Bangalore's new signing, Eoin Morgan, had started his IPL career confidently with a sensationally-timed off-drive for six off the second delivery he faced, but he was bowled by a short, slow ball from Kartik, through with his reverse-sweep before the ball arrived.
All the while Kallis was starved of strike, though he had shown glimpses of form, including a ferocious lofted cover drive. He set about re-building with the help of another veteran, Rahul Dravid, putting on 38 with some old-school textbook batting. Dravid was looking in fine touch before he contrived to drag a full, wide ball from Mathews onto the stumps.
