Calcutta: The thrills and frills associated with Twenty20 cricket were on display at the Eden on Sunday. Fortunes swung wildly before Sourav Ganguly clinched it the Kolkata Knight Riders’ way in the final over.

Sourav Ganguly continued with his golden form in the tournament. A little more consistency could have changed Knight Riders’ fate in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. Time for Dilip Vengsarkar and Co. to take a fresh look at some of the oldies!

The past few days have been strenuous for the team for happenings on and off the field. Sourav chose the perfect way to keep the detractors at bay and end their campaign on a winning note. The three-wicket victory once again confirmed the side’s potential which has remained largely unfulfilled.
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For the second successive day, the weather played spoilsport and forced Duckworth-Lewis to decide what was shaping into a fascinating contest. This time, Chennai Super Kings were on the right end of the result, as their total of 55 without loss after eight overs, chasing 150, was three runs ahead of the par score when a severe dust storm descended upon the Eden Gardens, and the rains that followed ensured there was no chance for the match to resume. The two points to Chennai moves them up to 14, while Kolkata Knight Riders are stuck on ten points from 11 games.
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Shaun Pollock led a stand-out seam-bowling performance as the Mumbai Indians notched up the most convincing win of the tournament, and their fifth in a row, handing the Kolkata Knight Riders an eight-wicket drubbing at the Wankhede Stadium. None of Kolkata’s batsmen came to terms with the seamer-friendly pitch, crumbling to an embarrassing 67 all out - the lowest score of the tournament and the fifth-lowest in all Twenty20 matches - before Sanath Jayasuriya hastened the finish with a 17-ball 48, as Mumbai sailed home with 87 deliveries to spare - a record in all Twenty20 games - significantly boosting their hopes of a semi-final berth.

The visitors were put in by Sachin Tendulkar, who won his second toss in a row, but even he wouldn’t have dreamed of the display his bowlers served up. The pitch helped significantly, offering bounce and plenty of seam movement to each of the five bowlers who were used - in fact, so good were the conditions for seam bowling that Rajesh Pawar, the left-arm spinner who made his IPL debut, wasn’t even pressed into the attack.
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This is a fairly simple prognosis as Shoaib Akhtar has always come up with flashes of blinding brilliance but has always failed to replicate them with any consistency.

Shoaib Akhtar has attended so many hearings that he might fancy his chances as an attorney or arbitrator. But his figures of 4-11 in 3 overs against Delhi Daredevils indicate that he need not mull any alternative careers as yet. Many analysts with all their cricketing acumen and recondite knowledge thought he will not have much of an impact. He has planted a tight slap across their face and proved them embarrassingly wrong.

But yours truly is adventurous enough to stick his neck out and say that Akhtar’s maiden IPL match might be a false dawn and that he will not come close to anything like it in the forthcoming matches. This is a fairly simple prognosis as Shoaib Akhtar has always come up with flashes of blinding brilliance but has always failed to replicate them with any consistency.

He is no stranger to controversies and injuries resulting in long layoffs, and subsequent come backs. He normally doesn’t finish an entire series and I can only remember his performance against a touring England side more than a couple of years ago where he lived to the hoopla normally associated with him. However, the ban might bring the best out in him and he might like the IPL for the light work he is supposed to perform - albeit in a very tense environment – compared to international cricket.

Reebok India, the leading sports brand made history of sorts by creating a moment that brought sports and stardom together.

The official merchandise partner for Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, Reebok struck a chord with all enthusiastic cricket fans, as it invited Shahrukh to open its first Knight Riders store on Sarat Bose Road in Kolkata. Knight Riders fanatics were bowled over at this unexpected treat.

Up for grabs at the store is the specially designed Knight Riders footwear and apparel fan gear. The line is complete with accessories like caps, head bands, wristbands, bag packs etc.
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KOLKATA: Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders was on Wednesday taken to court by Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) on alleged copyright infringement for playing songs of Hindi films at the Eden Gardens during IPL matches.

Justice Sanjib Banerjee of the Calcutta High Court, however, refused to grant an injunction on the use of the songs and directed the parties in the case to file affidavits stating their position.

IPRS alleged that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) used 14 popular Hindi film songs like Om Shanti Om’s ‘Dard-e-Disco’ and ‘Mauja hi Mauja’ from the film ‘Jab We Met’ without its permission during the IPL matches at the Eden.
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Thrilling match comes to the end when Knight Riders defeats Delhi Daredevils by preventing them to reach small score of 134.Dream debut of Sohaib Akhtar and his magic pace smash Daredevils top batting order which lead devil into the consecutive defeat in IPL.

Shoaib Akhtar made a dramatic IPL debut taking four wickets in a blistering new-ball spell to condemn the Delhi Daredevils to their fourth straight defeat. In what could be a key match in the scramble for a spot in the semi-finals, the Kolkata Knight Riders batting fizzled and they posted only 133 but Shoaib and an inspired fielding effort vindicated captain Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bat first and saw them through to a 23-run win, their third successive triumph.

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If Ganguly can play T20 he can just about do anything.

Sourav Ganguly has had a chequered career and he has witnessed his fortunes change mercurially barring a prolific spell at the start of his career – his halcyon days lasted from 1996 to 2000 – which was largely stable. He has risen from the ashes at least twice in his career after being rebuffed and that too when no one reckoned he’d make it. Now, after his second resurrection, he seems to have enhanced his repertoire and emerged as a better Test batsman than he ever was. To boot, he clearly is the best T20 batsman among his illustrious Indian team contemporaries strictly - going by his IPL record – except, of course, a certain Sachin Tendulkar.
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KOLKATA : In an apparent bid to cut cost, the Kolkata Knight Riders team management today “politely” asked five of its players, who are yet to feature in the side’s 14-member squad in any match, to leave the team hotel. ( Watch )

The players are Ranadeb Bose, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sourasish Lahiri, Yashpal Singh and Hokkaido.

One of the players said they were “politely given the option of either staying at the team hotel or going home”.
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Match No: 35
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils
Time: 8PM IST, 13th may 2008
Venue: Kolkata

Preview-Shoaib likely to debut
This is a crucial match for both teams in their quest to make the Top 4 slots. Kolkata is equal on points with Delhi, but the former is ahead on Net Run Rate. Comeback King Saurav Ganguly has struck form and will be eager to lenghten their mini winning streak of two matches. The Delhi top order batsmen are in good form, but the middle-order of Karthik, de Villiers and Shoaib Malik need to find their touch quickly.
Mini- battles:
A keen contest is likely between Delhi openers Gambhir and Sehwag against their Ranji team-mate Ishant Sharma. Should Shoaib Akthar play this match, Delhi had better watch out for his breakneck speed.
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