Last year's bottom-rankers Kolkata stunned defending champions Hyderabad in the opening match of the third edition of the Indian T20 series.
Kolkata win by 11 runs
Hyderabad had started their reply on a strong note and Kolkata could feel the heat big time as Adam Gilchrist and Laxman went around treating Kolkata's bowlers with disdain.
Murali Kartik snapped up Hyderabad opener VVS Laxman as Kolkata celebrated their first breakthrough in the opening match of the Indian T20 series.
Gilchrist cracked a scintillating fifty as the defending champions charged towards a challenging 162 to win the opening clash.
Brad Hodge removed former Aussie teammate Adam Gilchrist while Charl Langeveldt snapped up Proteas countryman Herschelle Gibbs signal a turnaround for Kolkata.
Ishant Sharma got rid of the dangerous Andrew Symonds to put Hyderabad in a spot of bother.
Rohit Sharma played one of the strangest shots you could have seen on a cricket field, allowing Angelo Mathews to pick up his first wicket of the match.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla is on the button, getting rid of Anirudh Singh as Kolkata further dented Hyderabad's prospects.
Langeveldt then picked up his second wicket of the match, rattling Chaminda Vaas' timber in the penultimate over.
Kolkata are 161 for four
Angelo Mathews and Owaish Shah smashed a fifty each to help Kolkata post a commanding total against Hyderabad.
Hyderabad got off to a sensational start. Chaminda Vaas struck twice in the first over to send shivers through the Kolkata camp.
Kolkata lost Cheteshwar Pujara and Brad Hodge in quick succession just when the pair started to rebuild the innings against Hyderabad.
RP Singh struck in the fifth over to remove Cheteshwar Pujara who played it straight to Pragyan Ojha at mid-on, as Kolkata slumped to further trouble.
Jaskaran Singh was quick to join the party for the defending champions, seeing off Kolkata's most consistent batsman, Brad Hodge. Hyderabad are on top.
However, Mathews and Owaish Shah led a sensational recovery for the side, sharing a valuable partnership for the fifth wicket. Both batsmen were not scared to go down the track and use their feet and play some rivetting cricketing shots.
Mathews, in particular, looked dangerous as the Kolkata innings drew to a close. Interestingly, neither team discussed much during the time-outs but Kolkata looked way stronger after the jolts in the first seven overs.
The Toss
Hyderabad have won the toss and elected to field in the opening match of the Indian T20 series against Kolkata.
After a sensational opening ceremony to the third edition of the Indian T20 series, focus will shift to hardcore cricket with defending champions, Hyderabad taking on Kolkata in the opening match.
Sourav Ganguly, back as captain for Kolkata, has a lot on his plate, what with a new set of coaches and a new uniform. Hyderabad, on the other hand, will look to replicate their performance in South Africa last year.
Both sides, however, have to do without their leading international players, engaged in various series for their national teams across the globe.
Teams
Hyderabad: AC Gilchrist (Captain & WK), HH Gibbs, A Symonds, VVS Laxman, RG Sharma, Anirudh Singh, TL Suman, Jaskaran Singh, WPUJC Vaas, RP Singh, PP Ojha
Kolkata: SC Ganguly (Captain), BJ Hodge, CA Pujara, MK Tiwary, OA Shah, AD Mathews, WP Saha (WK), LR Shukla, M Kartik, CK Langeveldt, I Sharma
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