Port Elizabeth, Apr 27 Mumbai Indians defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 92 runs in their Indian Premier League match here today.
Brief score:.
Mumbai Indians: 187 for 6 in 20 overs ( Sachin Tendulkar 68, Sanath Jayasuriya 52; Laxmi Ratan Shukla 3/25).
Kolkata Knight Riders: 95 in 15.2 overs ( Sourav Ganguly 34, Brad Hodge 24; Lasith Malinga 3/11, Abhishek Nayar 3/13).
The manner of Mumbai assault was breathtaking. The St George's Park in Port Elizabeth came alive and neither the cheerleaders nor the Bollywood stars could match the electricity of the strokeplay.
Although at one stage the Mumbai Indians were looking good for a total above 200, they eventually settled for 187 for six, which prove insurmountable for the hapless Knight Riders, who have struggled to impress on the field even as a host of off-field controversies kept affecting their team spirit.
In the end they were shot out for a paltry 95 in only 15.2 overs. Once skipper Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly fell, it was all over and Lasith Malinga quickly mopped up the tail.
He was even on a hat-trick, but didn't get a chance to have a go as the injured Anureet Singh decided not to come out to bat.
Tendulkar began the run-fest with the first ball of the second over, an upper-cut for a six that reminded of that famous shot off Shoaib Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup.
In the fourth ball of the same over, he struck his first boundary, more elegant than ever, a flick off a full-length delivery that underlined the kind of form he was in.
The two gave way to a flood of runs, threatening to drown the Knight Riders and though Mumbai Indians may have liked a bigger total towards the end, the Knight Riders could not recover from what had been meted out to them.
With Sachin going hammer and tongs at one end, Jayasuriya took his own time to get set. However, when the Sri Lankan did begin his share of mauling, he was merciless on the sub-par KR bowling attack.
Tendulkar's shot off a chest-height short-pitched delivery, then a slog-sweep and a reverse-flick, amd Jayasuriya picking one off his legs and going over long-off at will was all a treat a watch.
At the start of the game, Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan came out on the field followed by his bodyguards. He went up to his players, hugged John Buchanan, spoke to a few juniors before making his way out waving to fans shouting his name.
But unfortunately for him, Tendulkar and Jayasuriya were the lead protagonists. No potboiler worth its money could've produced a bigger hit than what the Mumbai openers dished out.
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