KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS WIN BY 6 WICKETS!!!

Kolkata Knight Riders were too hot to handle for a depleted Delhi side, who were missing their top two star players in Virender Sehwag and Morne Morkel.

For Kolkata, Narine made the difference with the ball, claiming four for 13 in four overs. Mahela Jayawardene provided the lone resistance with the bat for Delhi as he made 66 from 52 balls but the rest of the batsmen failed to fire with the bat.

Gambhir gave Kolkata a blazing start with the bat as he smashed 42 from 29 balls, while Kallis and Tiwary scored 23 each.

NEXT: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians in Bangalore on April 4 at 2000 IST.
 

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS WIN BY 6 WICKETS!!!

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have started off in style, registering a convincing six-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in the first match of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.

KKR 129-4 (18.4 overs) vs DD 128

Botha comes back. Morgan inside edges the second ball which passes close to his stumps for one behind the stumps. Yusuf late cuts the next ball fine on the off-side for one to level the scores.

Morgan hits the winning runs as he taps it to midwicket for an easy single.

Kolkata have registered an easy six-wicket win to start the tournament with a victory.

Pathan is unbeaten on 18 from 16 balls and Morgan is on 14 from 15 balls.

KKR 126-4 (18 overs) vs DD 128

Yusuf gets into the act as he lofts a full delivery straight down the ground for a six followed by a single on the off-side. Morgan then pulls a short ball to the leg side for one and Pathan turns a short ball behind square for a couple followed by a quick single to mid-off.

Morgan nudges the last ball fine on the leg side for one to make it 12 runs from the over. Kolkata need just three runs from two overs for victory.

KKR 114-4 (17 overs) vs DD 128

Yadav comes back to bowl his third over. And as expected he starts with short deliveries to Pathan, who bottom edges the first ball but gets the next off the middle to deep midwicket for a single.

Two more singles before Yadav bowls a wide down the leg side followed by couple each from the last two balls as KKR reach 114 for four after 17 overs.

15 needed from three overs for victory.

KKR 106-4 (16 overs) vs DD 128

Surprisingly, Botha is taken off after one over despite getting a wicket. Russell comes into the attack and he starts with a quick bouncer to Yusuf Pathan, which sails high over his head and is called a wide.

Pathan flicks the second ball on the leg side for two runs followed by three more singles as Kolkata continue to cruise towards victory.

KKR 100-4 (15 overs) vs DD 128

Nadeem also comes back from the other end and even he strikes with a wicket in his comeback over.

Tiwary tried to play the paddle sweep but got a top edge and was caught by Ojha on the leg side for 23 from as many balls.

WICKET: Tiwary c Ojha b Nadeem 23 (23b, 2x4)

Delhi have a glimmer of hope with two quick wickets in the space of two overs. But Kolkata are still holding the upperhand, having reached 100 for four in 15 overs, needing 29 from the last five overs for victory.

KKR 98-3 (14 overs) vs DD 128

Botha comes back for his second spell. He starts with a wicket as he traps Gambhir leg before wicket for 42, who went back but missed the quicker delivery and was hit on the pads. Umpire Simon Taufel ruled it in the bowler's favour though it looked the ball might have been heading down the leg side.

WICKET: Gambhir lbw b Botha 42 (29b, 5x4, 1x6)

New batsman Eoin Morgan off the mark in style as he powerfully sweeps Botha through midwicket for a boundary.

KKR 93-2 (13 overs) vs DD 128

Medium pacer Andre Rusell comes into the attack now. Tiwary defends the first two deliveries before chipping down the track, making room and smashing a short ball through the off-side for a boundary.

Gambhir has a close shave off the last delivery. He tries to take a quick single but is sent back as the fielder on the off-side misses with the direct hit and gives away one overthrow.

KKR 87-2 (12 overs) vs DD 128

Gambhir nearly throws his wicket away. He chips down the track to Nadeem but doesn't get it off the middle and it falls short of Nehra at long-off, who tries to dive forward but can't get to the ball.

Tiwary flicks the next ball towards midwicket for a couple followed by three singles from the last three balls as seven runs come from that over.

KKR 80-2 (11 overs) vs DD 128

KKR batsmen doing it quite sensibly out in the middle. With the required run rate at under six runs per over, they are looking to hit the ball in the gap and scamper across for ones and twos.

They milk Botha for runs in his second over as the total advances to 80 for two after 11 overs.

KKR 75-2 (10 overs) vs DD 128

Nadeem bowls a beauty that spins quite a lot to beat Tiwary as it spins right across the bat of the right-hander. Three singles from the next three balls before Gambhir tries to sweep it on the leg side but misses. The last ball is a touch wide and Gambhir plays the late cut which beats the short thirdman fielder for a boundary.

At the halfway stage, KKR are 75 for two with Gambhir on 38 from 23 balls and Tiwary on nine from eight balls.

KKR 68-2 (9 overs) vs DD 128

Spin from both ends now as off-spinner Johan Botha comes into the attack now. Gambhir tries to hit the first delivery, which Botha gives a lot of flight, through the off-side but gets a thick inside edge which narrowly misses the stumps for a couple.

The next ball is short and wide and Gambhir rocks back to cut it behind point for a boundary. He then jumps down the track and chips it over the off-side but gets just a single.

Tiwary is beaten by the last delivery and ends up playing it in the air towards the long-off but it falls short of the fielder in the deep.

The spinners are getting some purchase but Kolkata are sitting pretty on 68 for two in nine overs, needing 61 from 11 overs for victory.

KKR 58-2 (8 overs) vs DD 128

Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem comes into the attack. And he strikes in the very first over, getting the wicket of Kallis, who is caught at deep midwicket for 23.

WICKET: Kallis c Chand b Nadeem 23 (20b, 5x4)

Kallis tried to pull a short ball but failed to get in the gap and hit it straight to Chand on the midwicket fence.

New batsman Manoj Tiwary edged the second delivery as it went past the first slip fielder for a boundary.

KKR 52-1 (7 overs) vs DD 128

Delhi's fielding has been very sloppy. Kallis nudges Yadav fine on the leg side but Pathan misses an easy stop on the fine leg fence to give away a four. Two balls later Yadav bowls a quick short delivery which Kallis top edges as he tries to pull but this Pathan runs around and makes a good stop inside the ropes.

Kolkata are sitting pretty on 52 for one after seven overs.

KKR 46-1 (6 overs) vs DD 128

Nehra will continue as he comes on to bowl his third over with Delhi desperate for a breakthrough. Kallis continues Kolkata's good start as he smashes a short wide ball over the cover region for a boundary.

Nehra keeps things tight for the rest of the over, giving away just six runs in that over.

KKR 40-1 (5 overs) vs DD 128

Pacer Umesh Yadav comes into the attack now to replace Pathan, who bowled two overs for 15 runs.

The pacer is making a comeback to cricket having just recovered from a back injury which kept him out of action for the last three months. Gambhir welcomes him by lofting the second ball over mid-on for a boundary and is gifted another four from the next ball as Nadeem lets another one in the covers.

11 runs from Yadav's first over as the Delhi bowlers continue to leak runs. Kolkata are off and running as they race to 40 for one in five overs.

Gambhir has raced to 22 from 12 balls and Kallis is on 13 from nine balls.

KKR 29-1 (4 overs) vs DD 128

Kallis is looking in good touch. The veteran drives a full delivery from Nehra straight down the pitch back past the bowler for a four and two balls later he pulls it over midwicket to make it two boundaries in the over.

Kolkata are looking comfortable on 29 for one after four overs, with exactly 100 required from the last 16 overs.

KKR 20-1 (3 overs) vs DD 128

Gambhir has decided to counter attack. He chips down the track, makes room and flays it over the point fielder for a boundary. He dances down the track again off the next ball and lofts it over long-on for a six.

He tries to hit the next ball through the leg side where Juneja nearly pulls off a stunning catch at midwicket diving forward but fails to hold on.

Kolkata are targetting Pathan as Kallis lofts him over mid-off for a boundary to take the score to 20 for one after three overs.

Pathan started with a maiden but has been hit for 15 runs in his next over.

KKR 5-1 (2 overs) vs DD 128

It's left-arm pacers from both ends as Ashish Nehra comes on to bowl the second over. Gambhir taps it on the off-side for a quick single to get his team off the mark.

Bisla gives himself room and smashes it through the covers for the first boundary for KKR as Shahbaz Nadeem messes up an easy stop in the covers.

But Nehra claims the first wicket off the next delivery. Bisla tries to turn it on the leg side but it hits him high on the pads to lob a simple catch to Chand on the off-side.

WICKET: Bisla c Chand b Nehra 4 (9b, 1x4)

That was the early breakthrough that Delhi needed and they will need a few more wickets to keep themselves in the hunt.

Nehra then gets one to jump off the track, surprising Jacques Kallis with a bouncer which hits him on the the shoulder. That was nasty and a big wake up call for Kallis.

KKR 0-0 (1 over) vs DD 128

Irfan Pathan to bowl the first over and up against him will be the two Kolkata openers -- Manvinder Singh Bisla and Gautam Gambhir.

Pathan is bang on target to start with and Bisla defends the first two balls. He chips down the track but hits it straight to the fielder at midwicket while he is hit on the body twice off the next two balls. He taps the first ball on the off-side for one as Pathan starts with a maiden over.

Delhi were bowled out for a modest 128 in 20 overs.

Narine stole the show with a superb exhibition of spin bowling, claiming four for 13 in four overs. He took a wicket each in all his four overs and never let the Delhi batsmen settle down, keeping them guessing with his mystery spinners.

He got good assistance from the wicket which offered a lot of turn and was also a bit slow, hampering the batsmen and restricting their shot making.

Bhatia also made contribution with the ball in the middle overs, taking two for 23, while Balaji claimed one for 20.

Lee was the only bowler who went for runs, taking two for 40 in four overs.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will fancy their chances of chasing down this total on their home ground and make a winning start to the tournament.

Jayawardene made 66 from 52 balls, while Warner scored 21 but the rest of the batsmen failed to make double digit scores, with three batsmen getting out for ducks.

DD: 125-8 (20)

Narine to bowl the final over of the innings.

Shahbaz Nadeem looks to paddle it fine and gets two runs in the process. He tried to reverse sweep the next ball but missed as wicketkeeper Bisla took off the bails but he got his bat back in time.

Narine got his fourth wicket as Ashish Nehra slogged it straight into the hands of Shukla at deep midwicket to be dismissed for a duck.

WICKET: Nehra c Shukla b Narine 0 (1b)

Delhi were bowled out from the last ball of the innings when Shahbaz Nadeem was run out for four.

WICKET: Nadeem run out 4 (4b)

DD: 125-8 (19)

Jayawardene gets the first six of the match. He despatches a short ball high over the midwicket fence for a maximum to take his score to 62.

The Delhi captain has cut loose. The next ball is a low full toss and Jayawardene backs away before flicking it over midwicket for a boundary.

But Lee gets his revenge as he gets Jayawardene caught in the covers as he fails to make most of another full toss. Jayawardene walks back after a good innings of 66 from 52 balls, with the help of eight fours and a six.

WICKET: Jayawardene c Narine b Lee 66 (52b, 8x4, 1x6)

Lee has been hit for 23 runs in his last two overs as he finishes with two for 40 in four overs.

Sunil Narine took four wickets for 13 runs to bowl out Delhi Daredevils for 128 in the first match of the IPL.

Captain Jayawardene top scored for Delhi with a fluent knock of 66 but the rest of the batsmen failed to come to grips with a slow wicket at the Eden Gardens.

DD: 113-7 (18)

Narine does it again, claiming a wicket to make it three in three overs.

Russell has no clue to what Narine is bowling and his misery ends when he offers a simple catch back to the bowler after scoring just four.

WICKET: Russell c and b Narine 4 (8b)

Narine's figures now read three for 10 in three overs.

DD: 109-6 (17)

Lee comes back now to complete his remaining two overs. Jayawardene is beaten off the first ball as he backs away and tries to flay it through the off-side but he gets the next ball off the middle and sends it past point for a four.

The Delhi captain then took a single to bring up his half-century from 46 balls, having hit five boundaries.

Russell tries to heave it on the leg side but ends up pulling the short ball towards midwicket where it is stopped by the fielder for just one.

The last ball is a bit slower and Jayawardene flicks it on the leg side for a boundary.

11 runs from that over as Delhi reach 109 for six after 17 overs.

DD: 98-6 (16)

Narine comes back for his new spell and strikes with another wicket, in his second over.

Irfan Pathan tried to hit his team out of trouble but chipped it straight to Manoj Tiwary at long-off for four. That was a needless shot considering the circumstances. Captain Jayawardene will not be happy with how the Delhi batsmen are throwing their wickets away.

WICKET: Pathan c Tiwary b Narine 4 (7b)

New batsman Andre Russell is beaten all ends up from the first delivery as Narine gets one to turn sharply going past the bat as the right-hander comes forward to defend. He carefully plays out the last two balls of that over.

Jayawardene is waging a lone battle from the other end, having made 44 from 41 balls.

Narine already making his presence felt in the IPL. His figures so far read two for six in two overs.

DD: 92-5 (15)

Balaji comes back to replace Shukla, who bowled just one over. He is mixing his pace quite well as just four singles come from that over.

Jayawardene is on 43 from 40 balls and is playing quite sensibly as wickets keep falling from the other end.

DD: 92-5 (14)

Bhatia gets another wicket in his final over. Botha tries an ugly reverse sweep but misses and is trapped leg before wicket for seven.

WICKET: Botha lbw b Bhatia 7 (6b, 1x4)

New batsman Irfan Pathan gets off the mark with a single to the covers and Jayawardene turns it fine on the leg side for one.

Bhatia concedes five runs in that over to finish with excellent figures of two for 23 in four overs.

Jayawardene is on 41 from 38 balls, having hit five boundaries.

DD: 87-4 (13)

Medium pacer Laxmi Ratan Shukla is introduced into the attack now. Johan Botha steers the first ball wide of the thirdman fielder for a couple. He is dropped off the next delivery as he ended up chipping it to the right of the bowler, who failed to hold on despite getting a hand on it.

Botha then tried to sweep Shukla on the leg side but top edged it over the short fine leg fielder for a four as eight runs come from that over.

DD: 79-4 (12)

Bhatia into his third over now. Ojha taps the first ball to point for one before Jayawardene gets another single on the leg side.

Two more singles before Ojha tries to cut loose and ends up throwing his wicket away. He tries to take on a slower ball from Bhatia but holes out a simple catch to Lee at long-off after scoring nine from as many balls.

WICKET: N Ojha c Lee b Bhatia 9 (9b, 1x4)

Delhi struggling at 79 for four after 12 overs. More pressure on captain Jayawardene now, he is batting on 38 from 34 balls, with the help of five boundaries.

DD: 75-3 (11)

Jayawardene tries to break the shackles as he tries to slog Kallis over the leg side but misses and is beaten off the next delivery outside the off-stump. Jayawardene then clips it on the leg side for a couple and then steers it to the thirdman region for a four to get seven runs from that over.

DD: 68-3 (10)

Naman Ojha another Delhi batsman off the mark with a boundary as he steers a wide delivery from Bhatia to the vacant thirdman region.

The right-hander then defends it on the off-side for one and Jayawardene gets one from the next ball.

At the halfway stage, Delhi are 68 for three.

Captain Jayawardene is holding forte with 30 from 27 balls, with the help of four boundaries, and Ojha is on six from four balls.

DD: 60-3 (9)

Debutant Juneja feeling the pressure. Delhi get singles from the first two balls before Juneja tries to slog it on the leg side but is beaten by a slower ball. He tries the shot again off the next ball as Balaji tries another slower bouncer and it takes the top edge for a boundary behind the keeper.

Juneja then gives himself room and tries to chip it over the off-side but Laxmi Ratan Shukla comes in from sweeper cover and dives forward to complete a good catch.

WICKET: Juneja c Shukla b Balaji 8 (9b, 1x4)

That was an unnecessary shot from Juneja, who had got a boundary from the previous delivery. Jayawardene will need to bat out the remaining overs and guide his team to a fighting total.

DD: 47-2 (8)

Medium pacer Rajat Bhatia into the attack now to replace Narine, who bowled just one over, where he took the wicket of Warner.

The first ball is short and wide which Jayawardene steers over the short thirdman fielder for a boundary. The next ball is a slow leg cutter and Jayawardene defends it back to the right of the bowler before taking one from the next ball.

Juneja gets one from the next ball before Bhatia ends with two dot balls.

DD: 47-2 (7)

Balaji keep things tight and trying to build pressure on the Delhi batsmen following that wicket of Warner in the last over.

Juneja taps the first ball on the leg side for one while Jayawardene plays two dot balls before getting one to the thirdman region. Juneja then tries a wild heave but is beaten completely and defends the last ball.

Balaji concedes just two runs in that over.

DD: 45-2 (6)

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine into the attack now for KKR immediately at the end of the Powerplay.

The first one spins quite a bit but goes one down the leg side to Jayawardene, who then flicks the next ball to midwicket for two runs. The right-hander then sweeps the fourth ball for another single.

Narine then strikes with the wicket of Warner, who is beaten by one that turned sharply and took the edge to be caught by Kallis at first slip.

WICKET: Warner c Kallis b Narine 21 (19b, 4x4)

Warner walks back after a good innings of 21 from 19 balls as Kolkata strike just at the right time to check Delhi's progress

New batsman Manpreet Juneja is off the mark from the first ball as he taps it on the off-side for a quick single. Gujarat's Juneja is making his IPL debut in this match.

DD: 41-1 (5)

Kolkata's pacers are struggling with their line. Lakshmipathy Balaji comes in as the first change and he slips one down the leg side which Jayawardene flicks fine on the leg side for his third four.

Three more singles in that over as Delhi reach 41 for one after five overs.

DD: 34-1 (4)

Warner is getting the boundaries for Delhi. He flicks Kallis behind square leg on the leg side for a four and three balls later plays it on the leg side for another boundary.

Delhi have recovered well to reach 34 for one after four overs.

Warner has raced to 20 from 16 balls with the help of four fours, and Jayawardene is on 11 from seven balls.

DD: 26-1 (3 overs)

Warner clips through the leg side for two runs and Jayawardene gets a couple to the thirdman region. The Delhi captain then plays a short delivery over the slips for a boundary as Delhi continue to score at a good rate despite that early wicket.

DD: 17-1 (2 overs)

Jacques Kallis struggles with the new ball, bowling two wides from the first two balls. Warner then pulls the fifth delivery over square leg for his second boundary as Kallis drops one short. The Australian will not hold back and will go for his shots, no matter what the circumstances.

DD: 9-1 (1 over)

Brett Lee gave KRR a dream start, striking with the wicket of Delhi opener Unmukt Chand. Lee started with a full delivery that moved away enough to beat Chand's tentative forward push to bowl him for a duck off the very first delivery of the match. The perfect start for defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders!!!

WICKET: Chand b Lee 0 (1b)

Delhi captain Mahela Jayawardene calms some nerve in the Delhi dressing room as he flicks the next delivery for a boundary through midwicket.

David Warner also gets off the mark as he crashes the last delivery through the covers.

Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Brett Lee struck with the very first delivery of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Lee bowled Delhi Daredevils opener Unmukt Chand for a first ball duck to give the defending champions a perfect start.

Australia's dashing opener David Warner will open the batting for Delhi Daredevils along with youngster Unmukt Chand, who led India to the Under-19 World Cup win last year.

Eoin Morgan has scored the most runs for England in Twenty20 Internationals, says OptaJim on Twitter.

"871 Only K Pietersen (1176) has scored more Twenty20 international runs for England than Eoin Morgan (871)."

Check out how the two teams line-up for the opening match of IPL 6:

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Manvinder Singh Bisla, Jacques Kallis, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Rajat Bhatia, Brett Lee, Sunil Narine, Lakshmipathy Balaji.

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), David Warner, Unmukt Chand, Manprit Juneja, Naman Ojha, Johan Botha, Andre Russell, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl against Delhi Daredevils in the opening match of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.

The four foreign players for defending champions Kolkata are Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Brett Lee and Sunil Narine.

Meanwhile, Delhi have opted for David Warner, captain Mahela Jayawardene, Johan Botha and Andre Russell.

Delhi were dealt a big blow with opener Virender Sehwag ruled out because of injury.