Jacques Kallis and Sunil Narine help Kolkata Knight Riders register a comprehensive victory over the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the first match of the IPL 7 played in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Kallis hit 72 runs and Sunil Narine took a haul of 4 wickets by giving out just 20 runs. KKR won the match with a massive margin of 41-runs against the MI. The KKR batsmen were able to put up a decent total of 163 runs on the board. The bowlers helped the team register a much required victory to kick start their Pepsi IPL 2014 campaign on a winning note.
The toss was won by KKR and they chose to bat first. Lasith Malinga scalped the KKR opener Gautam Gambhir without giving any runs. Kallis and Manish Pandey built up the momentum from MI and helped the team amass a decent total with a partnership of 131 runs. Both of them scored half centuries but Pandey was bowled by Malinga on 64 Kallis however was caught by Corey Anderson on an individual score of 72.
Uthappa, a player bought on one of the highest bids was not able to impress and was taken by Zaheer Khan on a score of 1. Malinga completed his yet another 4 wicket haul in the IPLs with the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan.
Yusuf Pathan (4*), and Suryakumar Yadav (13*) were unable to do much but ensured that KKR cross the 160 runs mark. Yadav’s three fours, and a single off the last ball helped the team make a total of 163 for five in 20 overs.
Michael Hussey and Aditya Tare opened the innings for Mumbai Indians.