Retired South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis and his former teammate Morne Morkel have led the Kolkata Knight Riders to a comprehensive, 41-run victory against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening game of the IPL-7 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Morkel delivered a hostile spell of 1-16 from his four overs while Kallis top scored with 72 from just 46 deliveries, leading the Knight Riders to amass 163-5 before restricting the Mumbai Indians to a paltry 122-7.
According to Sport24, West Indian spinner Sunil Narine played the major role in Mumbai's demise with a captivating spell of 4-20, including top scorer Ambati Rayadu, Harbhajan Singh and Corey Anderson, while a second wicket partnership of 131 between Kallis and Manish Pandey laid the foundation for KKR's total.
Kallis was named Man of the Match after following his innings with a cunning spell of bowling in which he conceded just 23 runs from three overs, the report added.