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Good times for Kolkata Knight Riders
DreamCricket Special Correspondent
The King�s men stunned the world with their breathtaking performance. If the Indian Premier League opening ceremony witnessed some brilliant piece of art, what followed was something more sensational. In fact, it was a perfect script of Shah Rukh Khan�s Friday Blockbuster release.
Sourav Ganguly was happy to lose the toss and soon the men in black and gold stepped onto the field to take the guard. Brendon McCullum entertained the packed house at Chinnaswamy Stadium with some scintillating stroke play. The wicket-keeper batsman slammed an unbeaten 158 to see Kolkata Knight Riders reach a mammoth 222 for 3 in 20 Overs.
Dravid and his men seemed confident of putting up a good fight back. Brilliant bowling display coupled with great team effort scripted the collapse of Royal Challengers.
7 down for just over 40 runs with Pravin Kumar the only one to end with double figures of 18 tells you the story as Dravid�s men were bundled out for just 80 runs.
As Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL opener convincingly by 140 runs, Cricket�s biggest Dhamaka was off to a flier and Indian Premier League is here to stay.
PLAYER WATCH
Shah Rukh Khan paid a whopping US$700,000 for Brendon McCullum. Boy every hit from his willow saw his owner dancing in the stands and making him proud of the gamble. 10 fours & 13 sixes in an unbeaten knock of 158 from 73 tells you about the hurricane McCullum that hit the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He was in a hurry, racing to his century in just 53 deliveries. His feat of becoming the highest scorer in Twenty20 cricket also fetched him IPL�s first man of the match award and a chance to win the Orange Helmet�IPL�s equivalent to Tour de France�s yellow jersey for scoring most runs in the tournament.
PLAYERS�S SPEAK
I was pretty nervous at the start, it was such a big occasion, and for the first six balls I just couldn't move my feet. But with the short boundaries, I managed to get away with a few and it was just nice to keep going. - Brendon McCullum on his knock.
We have been beaten by a truly exceptional Twenty20 innings - Opposition captain Rahul Dravid on embarrassing loss
There will be pressure, everyone is here to win. There are big names and reputation at stake. And with such huge amounts being paid efforts will surely be reflected. - Sourav Ganguly Captain, Knight Riders
FACTOIDS
1st Half
2 overs: Zaheer Khan smashed for 18 by BB McCullum
9 overs: BB McCullum 50* (32b 5x4 3x6)
16 overs: BB McCullum 102* (55b 8x4 7x6)
19.1 overs: Kolkata Knight Riders 202 for 3
20 overs: Kolkata Knight Riders 222/3 BB McCullum 158* (73b 10x4 13x6)
2nd Half
2 overs: Ishant Sharma bowls Rahul Dravid
8.6 overs: Agarkar leads the attack picks 3 wickets
8.6 overs: 7 batsmen dismissed for 43
15.1 overs: Bangalore Royal Challenger 82/10 Pravin Kumar 18
If the crowd felt that the tournament opener witnessed some champions stuff; there are many more in store. Don�t miss the action here on DreamCricket, as India�s vice-captain Yuvraj Singh will face off with his T20 World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni in the second game of the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
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