Kolkata in a zone at Eden

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by seven wickets in the third Indian Premier League at Eden Gardens.

After failing to register a single win last season and finish at the bottom of the table,the Kolkata Knight Riders seem to have turned the corner. After defeating defending champions Deccan Chargers in a tense opening away game on Friday,Kolkata beat last years runner-up Bangalore Royal Challengers at home on Sunday. Chasing 136,KKR reached their target in 19.2 overs,losing just three wickets,much to the delight of a packed stadium.

Coming into the match,the focus was on Bangalores diminutive opener Sreevats Goswami,the local boy who was playing an away game at Eden Gardens. The 20-year-old failed,but later in the day,the spotlight was on his colleague in the Bengal dressing room Manoj Tiwary.

After his first-ball duck in the opening match,Tiwary was under pressure to perform. Of late,Tiwarys practice sessions with his personal coach Manabendra Ghosh have focused on the mental aspect of the game. This seems to have had a positive effect on the 24-year-old as he wasnt overawed by the big names in the Bangalore bowling attack. He showed scant respect to the worlds leading all-rounder Jacques Kallis as he hit him for three fours and one six during the first four overs of the game. Things didnt change when Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble replaced Kallis with Dale Steyn.

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Tiwary hit the first ball that he faced from Steyn for a six over long-off. The stroke didnt just give him confidence of playing more shots,it also proved to be the turning point of the game. With their star bowler going for 16 runs in his first over,Bangalores hope of restricting Kolkata to a modest total was shattered. Tiwary hit two more fours off Kumble to finally announce his arrival on the IPL stage.

It was a rather tame end to a fine knock,as Tiwary got out after scoring 50 from 29 balls,giving a return catch to spinner Roelof van der Merwe. Tiwarys opening partner Brad Hodge played a mature knock as he didnt mind taking the back seat. The senior pro from Australia concentrated on taking singles and giving the strike to the youngster.

Earlier,put in to bat,Bangalores innings never got going. Jacques Kallis carried his bat and remained unbeaten on 65 off 52 balls. But his unusually sedate approach was responsible for his team not getting the momentum to compile a big score.

Rahul Dravid played a fine cameo on his return to competitive cricket. A cover drive off Angelo Mathews was the top contender for the shot of the match. He got out playing a similar shot,as the ball came back off the seam,to clean up his furniture.

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The home side gave nothing away on the field. Mathews continued his fine form as he returned with figures of 4/19. Murali Kartik chipped in with a couple of wickets,including that of Eoin Morgan.

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