Finally, Kolkata Knight Riders tasted success after 4 straight losses, when they beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 5 runs at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, May 08, 2008. The match was reduced to 16 overs due to rain. 

Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders put up 129 runs on the board. Aakash Chopra and Tatendra Taibu were playing their first match in the IPL. It wasn't a flying start for the hosts as they kept loosing wickets at regular intervals. David Hussey was the top scorer for the Knight Riders scoring 26 runs off 12 balls which included 3 sixes and a four. Ganguly (20 runs), Taibu (15 runs), Saha (17 runs) and Murali Kartik (17 runs) chipped in with useful contributions. For the Royal Challengers Dale Steyn was the most successful bowler claiming 3 wickets for 27 runs. Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar picked up 1 wicket each.

 

The Royal Challengers continued to suffer from their batting problems. They were not allowed to get off to a flying start by the Kolkata frontline bowlers except Umar Gul who went for 30 runs in 3 overs. Once Sourav Ganguly introduced himself into the attack, Royal Challengers were completely tied down. Dada bowled an impressive spell of 3 overs in which he conceded just 7 runs and picked up a wicket. For the Royal Challengers, Mark Boucher (50 runs off 40 balls) was the top scorer. With this loss, Bangalore is at the bottom of the table with just 4 points from 8 games.

 

Kolkata Knight Riders: 129/7 in 16 overs

Bangalore Royal Challengers: 124/4 in 16 overs

Man of the Match: Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata Knight Riders)