NEW DELHI – Fine all-round show by Chennai Super Kings players guided them to a thrilling two-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2011 IPL opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Manoj Tiwary took Kolkata towards victory, after few quick setbacks in the middle, as he scored a flashy 15-ball 27 that included four boundaries and two sixes. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave Chennai Super Kings crucial breakthrough as he got rid of Kolkata Knight Riders’ opener Jacques Kallis, who slammed 37-ball fifty, in the 2011 IPL opener.
Kallis plundered seven boundaries in his half-century knock. Kolkata were 111/2 after the end of 15 overs. Suresh Raina dismissed Eoin Morgan to reduce Kolkata to 119 for 4. Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir ran himself out in search of a second run. Kolkata lost 3 wickets in the span of 8 runs. Kolkata lost Yusuf Pathan in the form of second wicket after he was run out by some brilliant work done by Chennai skipper MS Dhoni.
Pathan, who survived a stumping appeal a delivery before, couldn’t stay for long in the middle. Pathan only contributed 11 runs off 12 balls, which included one hit over the ropes. Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati did the trick for Chennai Super Kings as he broke the crucial opening partnership between Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis gave Kolkata blistering start against Chennai as the duo added 64 runs for the first wicket. Bisla, who scored 29-ball 27, misread Jakati’s turner and he missed the ball completely as Chennai skipper MS Dhoni made no mistake to remove the stumps in a flash.
Earlier, Srikkanth Anirudha cashed in on two dropped chances to hit 64 runs as reigning champions Chennai Super Kings scored a competitive 153 for four against Kolkata Knight Riders. Anirudha shared a 75-run stand with Suresh Raina (33) for the second wicket and then combined with his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (29) to raise 49 runs to help Chennai cross the 150-run mark at the M A Chidambaram stadium.
Kolkata’s sub-standard fielding helped the cause of the hosts as they spilled three catches. Anirudha’s knock came off 55 balls and was studded with six fours and two sixes. Albie Morkel came up with a useful 9-ball 15 and finished off the innings with a huge six off Jacques Kallis. For Kolkata, Kallis (2/34) was the most successful bowlers but he was quite expensive.
Paceman Laxmipathy Balaji put up a fine show, though his went wicket-less, as he gave away just 25 runs in his quota of four overs. Gambhir’s decision to hand the ball to Iqbal Abdullah paid as the left-arm spinner dismissed Murali Vijay in the last ball of the first over.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 153-4 in 20 overs (S Anirudha 64, SK Raina 33, MS Dhoni 29; JH Kallis 2-34, YK Pathan 1-19, Iqbal Abdulla 1-26). Kolkata Knight Riders 151-7 in 20 overs (MS Bisla 27, JH Kallis 54, MK Tiwary 27; TG Southee 1-30, R Ashwin 1-26, S Randiv 1-33, SB Jakati 1-26, SK Raina 1-3)
