KKR starts IPL 3 with Victory

Mumbai: Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a competitive 161 for four after Chaminda Vaas and RP Singh ripped through the top order in the opening game of IPL 2010 here on Friday.

Put into bat, Kolkata could not have asked for a worse start as they lost Manoj Tiwary with the first delivery and then Sourav Ganguly on the fourth ball of the over. RP Singh struck soon after, sending back debutant Cheteshwar Pujara and at 31 for three in the fifth over, a pall of gloom descended over the Kolkata camp. Brad Hodge was dismissed in the next over and it was 31 for four in no time.

Shah and Mathews then came together and dropped anchor. The first few overs were difficult, but the two backed each other and at the end of the 10 overs, Kolkata was 57 for four.

But then Kolkata resurrected itself as Mathews and Shah tore into the Deccan attack. After overs and overs of single-block housing, the Manhattan skyline was in the offing and the two sent the bowlers on a leather hunt.

They added 104 runs in the last 10 overs and have give Kolkata a real chance of fighting back in this game. Mathews finished with 65 not out, while Shah was unbeaten on 58.

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