Rohit Sharma played a captain’s knock but his effort proved insufficient at the end, as Kolkata Knight Riders got the better of Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the Indian Premier League by seven wickets at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front and made a well-compiled half-century and stitched a crucial partnership with Manish Pandey, when they were most needed. Later, Suryakumar Yadav played an unbeaten cameo in the end to take the game away from Mumbai.
“It was a tough total to chase, and the way we chased showed we were deserving winners,” Gambhir said. “It was a very good wicket, but we never knew how it was going to behave. It was different to the usual wicket we see in Kolkata.”
Earlier, Kolkata after winning the toss elected to field first and they arrived with all guns blazing with the new-ball. Morne Morkel provided the early jolts to rip through the top-order but Rohit held one end firmly and played through the tough phase.
“With the new ball there was a little bit of swing,” Morkel said. “The rhythm was good, and I just needed to make the best use of it. It’s fantastic to be back here in front of an awesome crowd, and to get that first win out of the way.”
Rohit, along with Corey Anderson, made a crucial fourth wicket partnership to lift Mumbai to 169. But, the Knight Riders, riding on their skipper Gambhir chased down the total with nine balls to spare.
“We were probably 10-15 runs short, but we should have done a little better with the ball,” Rohit said. “There was something for the bowlers still. We didn’t execute the plans well, but I hope the guys can pick it up and come out in a positive manner.”
“The wicket was really good, you saw how easily they chased down 170,” he added. “It was a good knock, but ending up on the losing side doesn’t please you. I’m sure our guys can learn from the mistakes we made.”
