KOCHI: Kochi Tuskers Kerala rode on a rollicking opening stand between Brendon McCullum and V V S Laxman as they scored a challenging 161 for five against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their debut Indian Premier League match here today.
McCullum (45 off 32 balls) and Laxman (36 off 29 balls) gave KTK a blazing start with a 80-run stand from nine overs in their first IPL outing as the duo rained fours and sixes to take their side to 61 after the sixth over after their captain Mahela Jayawardene elected to bat.
The home side could not cash in on to the strong foundation laid by the openers as they lost wickets at regular intervals but still posted a challenging total.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja played a useful late cameo of 23 not out from 16 balls, which was studded with two fours and a six.
McCullum blasted Australian fast bowler Dirk Nannes for 16 runs in the second over of the innings with two fours and a huge six.
The two openers gave respect to India's World Cup star bowler Zaheer Khan but carted all the other bowlers to all corners of the park in the initial overs.
The duo sent the crowd at the Nehru Stadium into a frenzy by taking 19 runs off young Abhimanyu Mithun in the sixth overs of the innings with McCullum and Laxman hitting a six each.
The normally slow batter Laxman matched McCullum almost stroke for stroke as he hit another six off Tillakaratne Dilshan and a four off RCB captain Daniel Vettori .
The India Test star was the first to go as he holed out to deep midwicket fielder Cheteshwar Pujara off Dilshan in the ninth over while attempting a big shot to leave KTK at 80/1.
KTK lost the momentum with McCullum dismissed soon after in the 12th over off part-time bowler Virat Kohli to leave the home side at 93 for two.
McCullum went horribly wrong while trying to scoop the ball over the wicketkeeper as he lobbed a catch to Nannes at short third man. His 45 came from 32 balls and was studded with four boundaries and two sixes.
Captain Jayawardene (18) did not contribute much as he was out off his counterpart Vettori in the 16th over as he completely missed the flight of the ball and AB de Villiers whipped off the bails in a flash.
Brad Hodge (27) and Riaphi Gomez (0) were out in the 18th and 19th overs as KTK ended their 20 overs at 161 for five after they were 82 for one at the halfway mark.
For RCB, Vettori was the most impressive bowler with one for 17 runs while Zaheer, Nannes, Dilshan and Kohli also took a wicket.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
KTK
KTK-Kochi Tuskers Kerala
Kochi Tuskers Kerala (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി ടസ്കേഴ്സ് കേരള) is a franchise cricket team that plays the Indian Premier League representing the city of Kochi. The team was one of two new franchisees added to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2011 season, alongside the Pune Warriors India. The team franchise is owned by Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd., which is a consortium of multiple companies.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which is making its debut in the 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League, on Wednesday introduced its players and launched its promotional logo for the Twenty20 tournament starting on Friday 9th April 2011.
The team is slated to meet Royal Challengers Bangalore in its opening match at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on April 9.
The team's video was unveiled by Kochi IPL franchise in the presence of actor Jayaram at a function.
"We have four World Cup players -- Mahela, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thisara Perera and S Sreesanth. They have to be fresh and deserve a rest. Unfortunately, Mahela will be around on match day while Indian pacer Sreesanth, Murali and Thisara are expected to join the team tomorrow," Lawson said.
On Sreesanth, who had played only two matches in the World Cup, he said he was an experienced cricketer.
"It is good for us that he had not played much cricket. The Kochi team is a new team. There are lot of challenges. The management had an enormous task putting the team together. It was a difficult birth for this franchise," he said.
Another member VVS Laxman is an experienced player. "There are challenges. But we are confident of performing early on. We are looking to play well and win games. There will not be any excuses of not behaving well as a team."
The team had a practice session on Wednesday and will be training on Thursday also.
KTK has been working hard under Lawson and their hard work will reap good results this season, Mukesh Patel, one of the directors, said.
Vivek Venugopal, one of the directors, said Kochi has lot of local talent and KTK gives them a forum to expose their talent in the International cricket arena.
The promotional video was shot at the picturesque Varapuzha capturing the beauty of the backwaters. It also showcases the home ground of Kochi Tuskers -- Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.
Ace Bollywood film maker Priyadarshan conceptualised the video based on the theme song for the team. The music is composed by acclaimed music director Ousepachen and Thiru is the cinematographer.
The video is based on the theme song which is just two minutes long.
Kochi had bought 17 players from the IPL 2011 auction by signing five specialist batsmen -- Mahela Jayawardene, VVS Laxman, Brad Hodge, Owais Shah and Michael Klinger, besides six bowlers -- Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, Sreesanth, RP Singh, Ramesh Powar, Vinay Kumar and Stephen O'Keefe.
Other team members are: Ravindra Jadeja, Steve Smith, Thisara Perera and John Hastings, Brendon McCullum and Parthiv Patel. The team has 10 more Indian players including Kerala Ranji captain Raiphi Vincent Gomez.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala KTK Schedule IPL 2011
| DATE | TIME | TEAM | TEAM | VENUE |
| 9th April | 8pm | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Kochi |
| 13th April | 4pm | Pune Warriors | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Navi Mumbai |
| 15th April | 4pm | Mumbai Indians | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Mumbai |
| 18th April | 8pm | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Chennai Super Kings | Kochi |
| 20th April | 8pm | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Kolkata |
| 24th April | 8pm | Rajasthan Royals | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Jaipur |
| 27th April | 8pm | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Deccan Chargers | Kochi |
| 30th April | 4pm | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Delhi Daredevils | Kochi |
| 2nd May | 8pm | Delhi Daredevils | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Delhi |
| 6th May | 8pm | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Kings XI Punjab | Bangalore |
| 8th May | 4pm | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Bangalore |
| 13th May | 8pm | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Kings XI Punjab | Indore |
| 15th May | 8pm | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Rajasthan Royals | Indore |
| 18th May | 8pm | Chennai Super Kings | Kochi Tuskers Kerala | Chennai |
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Kochi post 161/5 against Bangalore in their IPL debut :ET
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