Kolkata Open With Thumping Victory

On a green Abu Dhabi pitch that had plenty of bounce, Kolkata cruised to a big win over defending champions Mumbai in the opening game of the season. The biggest difference was the impact made by the teams' overseas players: Lasith Malinga was the only one who delivered for Mumbai, but for Kolkata Jacques Kallisset up the innings with a 72, Morne Morkel squeezed the chase with a burst of 2-0-2-0 at the start of the innings, and Sunil Narine scalped four as he became the quickest bowler to 50 wickets in the tournament.

Kolkata, on choosing to bat, began poorly with their captain Gautam Gambhir scratching around for a eight-ball duck that was ended by a pinpoint Malinga yorker. Manish Pandey, whose most famous feat remains his breakthrough century in the 2009 season, grabbed his chance at No. 3, and put on a 131-run stand with Kallis.

(ESPN)