It was a low scoring affair at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on a pitch that was slow and taking sharp turn. Hosts Kolkata Knight Riders found the modest target of 132 a little too much as they went down by 6 runs. Hometown boy Manoj Tiwary was the lone man fighting for the hosts against a difficult spin attack from the Kochi Tuskers. Once Tiwary was gone for 46 from 51 balls in the 17th over, the match was also gone for KKR as the lower order just didn't have enough talent to counter the Tuskers bowling. Muttiah Muralitharan was outstanding for Kochi conceding only 18 in his 4 overs besides taking a wicket.
Earlier in the first half, KKR had bounced back strongly reducing Kochi Tuskers from 49 for no loss in the 7th over to 65 for 4 by the 12th over. However, they couldn't wrap up things quickly after that and let Kochi Tuskers get away with 132 for 7. Ravindra Jadeja played a crucial cameo of 29 from 18 balls with a four and 3 sixes to help Kochi get something significant on the board. Interestingly the Man of the Match award went to the Kochi Skipper Mahela Jaywardene who scored only 23 with the bat but his run out of Eoin Morgan in KKR's run chase could have been the turning point of the match.
- BV Swagath
