IPL-3 got off to a rollicking start as Kolkata Knight Riders, last year’s bottom placed side, came back from the dead to defeat the defending champions Deccan Chargers in a roller coaster match at the D.Y. Patil Stadium here on Friday night.

The Chargers lost the match after being in winning positions for most part of the game. First, they allowed the Knights, who were bottled up at 31 for 4, to score an impressive 161 and then while chasing, lost six wickets for 42 runs to slip from a strong position of 99 for 1 to 142 for 7 before falling 11 runs short.

With Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman putting on an opening wicket stand of 61 runs in just 5.5 overs, one thought the Chargers would canter through. But overambitious shots from the big bulls did the team in.

Gilly was dropped twice, on 2 and 41, and made 54 before hitting one straight to Manoj Tiwary at deep square leg to start the slide. Blue riband players Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma followed in quick succession thanks to unimpressive shots to put pressure on the rookies who found the weight a bit too much.

Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah were the heroes for KKR. They revived their team with superb knocks of 65 (46 balls, 5x4, 4x6) and 58 (46 balls, 3x4, 3x6) respectively. The two were involved in an unbroken 130-run stand for the fifth wicket in just 90 balls.

The Chargers got off to a dream start as Chaminda Vaas struck with the first ball of the tournament -- Manoj Tiwary playing him straight into Rohit Sharma’s hands at short mid-wicket. Three balls later, it was double trouble for the Knights as captain Sourav Ganguly was pouched by Anirudh Singh at first slip. KKR 0 for 2. Brad Hodge and Cheteshwar Pujara too were gone soon, and at 38 for 4 after the power play of six overs, KKR was in the pits.

That’s when Mathews and Shah dug deep. They stuck around accumulating runs at their own pace and saved their wickets to launch into the big strokes towards the end.

On way, Mathews dished out a couple of innovative hits that raced to the boundary as the KKR began to pick up pace. Shah joined the party to smack Andrew Symonds into the stands behind square leg. The Englishman also went down on his knee to send Vaas out of the ground and then miraculously dug out a full length delivery to the point fence before Angleo Mathews sent Vaas soaring over long-off to take 18 runs off the 17th over.

Gilchrist’s decision to introduce part-time spinner Tirumalsetti Suman (preferred over the seasoned Vaas) in the 18th over proved costly as KKR hit him around for 16 runs.

Scoreboard

kolkata knight riders
Manoj Tiwary c Rohit Sharma b Chaminda Vaas 0, Brad Hodge c Herschelle Gibbs b Jaskaran Singh 13, Sourav Ganguly c Anirudh Singh b Chaminda Vaas 0, Cheteshwar Pujara c Pragyan Ojha b R.P. Singh 10, Owais Shah n.o. 58, Angelo Mathews n.o. 65.
Extras (lb-8, w-6, nb-1) 15
Total (in 20 overs) 161/4
FoW: 1-0, 2-0, 3-31, 4-31.
Bowling: Chaminda Vaas 3-1-22-2, R.P. Singh 4-0-35-1, Jaskaran Singh 4-0-35-1, Pragyan Ojha 4-0-19-0, Andrew Symonds 4-0-26-0, Tirumalsetti Suman 1-0-16-0.
Deccan chargers
Adam Gilchrist c Manoj Tiwary b Brad Hodge 54, V.V.S. Laxman c&b Karthik 22, Herschelle Gibbs c Angelo Mathews b Charl Langeveldt 19, Andrew Symonds c Sourav Ganguly b Ishant Sharma 5, Rohit Sharma c Brad Hodge b Angelo Mathews 13, Anirudh Singh c&b Shukla 14, Tirumalsetti Suman n.o. 7, Chaminda Vaas b Charl Langeveldt 0, Jaskaran Singh n.o. 4.
Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-5, nb-2) 12
Total (in 20 overs) 150/7
FoW: 1-61, 2-99, 3-102, 4-116, 5-128, 6-141, 7-142.
Bowling: Charl Langeveldt 4-0-26-2, Ishant Sharma 4-0-31-1, Laxmi Ratan Shukla 3-0-30-1, Murali Karthik 3-0-17-1, Angelo Mathews 4-0-27-1, Brad Hodge 2-0-14-1.