Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, 1st Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

For the second season running, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians kick off the Indian Premier League. The stage for last year's encounter was Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium where KKR trumped MI before going on to lift the title. IPL 2015 starts off at KKR's fortress, the Eden Gardens. The two-time champions, KKR, were given an added boost ahead with ace spinner Sunil Narine being cleared to bowl in the tournament.

The 2013 champions, Mumbai Indians boast the best record for a visiting side at the Eden Gardens. Rohit Sharma and Co. will be vary of their slow start last season and would look to get off the blocks straight away. They boast of a superior 10-4 head to head advantage against the champions in all IPL's and will look to extend their advantage.

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Here's a stat to get you Rohit Sharma fans excited. His highest scores in ODI (264) and IPL (109*) have come at the Eden Gardens.
Here's a stat to get you Rohit Sharma fans excited. His highest scores in ODI (264) and IPL (109*) have come at the Eden Gardens.

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Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel and Andre Russell are the four foreigners for KKR. Gambhir is not sure about the dew being a factor. Rohit Sharma reckons that it is a good toss to lose. He wanted to bat anyway. Aaron Finch, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga and Corey Anderson are the foreigners in for Mumbai Indians.

News also coming in that Vinay Kumar will be making his debut for Mumbai Indians. He's played for Bangalore, Kochi and Kolkata before. Fourth team for the Karnataka captain in the IPL. Wonder who has played for the most teams in the IPL. If you have the answer, let us know by sending an email to [email protected] or simply leave a tweet to @ganeshcee. Join in!

Teams:

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Aaron Finch, Ambati Rayudu, Aditya Tare(w), Corey Anderson, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Vinay Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Pragyan Ojha

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir(c), Robin Uthappa(w), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel

He had ten consecutive scores of over 40 in the last season but Robin Uthappa managed just 9 today. Corey Anderson found some swing in and away to the right-hander. Uthappa chased one away from his body and got a thick edge to the lone slip in place. False start for KKR.

Gambhir is swinging at everything in search of a lucky break. What's that joke about Delhi boys hitting on everything that moves? Gambhir is in that zone right now.

So Umesh Yadav kickstarted proceedings for IPL 8. Good first over. Just four runs off it and worked up good pace as well. Trust Gambhir to look for wickets all the way. Not that it does matter too much when you have batsmen readily giving away wickets in search of boundaries. Aaron Finch's Mumbai debut lasted just 5 balls before he swung out at a length delivery and top edged it to fine leg. First blood drawn by KKR thanks to a suicidal shot from Finch.

Lovely cover drive from Rohit Sharma. Delectable really. Slower ball from Umesh and Rohit caresses it through the gap in the cover region. Five people manning the offside area mind you. And he does it again off the last ball of the third over. This time behind point. The crowd is still buzzing. Boundaries scored by the opposition batsmen doesn't seem to stop them from crying their throats hoarse. Loudest cheer still for Umesh's catch to get rid off Finch.

First sound of that IPL trumpet as well. Lukewarm response from the crowd.

The powerplay ends and Gambhir gets in Shakib straightaway, with a slip in place. And that brings the first six off the match as well. Rohit thumps it straight over the bowler's head.

Aditya Tare throws it away as well. Shakib bowls a wide off the last ball and the extra delivery yields a wicket. Poor shot from Tare. Holes out straight to long off.

Morne Morkel operates with two slips in place now. Rayudu surprised by the extra awkward bounce right away and then bites the dust! First ball shoots off a good length, Rayudu keeps his bat close to his body. Flirts with a similar delivery next ball and edges to slip. Quality fast bowling, shot demanded by the format and a wicket just does not feel the same but hey, this is T20 and the IPL. Even commentary gaffes made by Ravi Shastri are interrupted by ad-breaks.

Three slips in now for Morne. Gambhir on the prowl. Top over from Morne Morkel. A maiden to boot. KKR calling the shots.