IPL THREE : DAY 3

Match : 1

Kolkata thump RCB for second win in a row :

Kolkata Knight Riders maintained a perfect start to their IPL campaign as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets to notch up their second win in a row at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Angelo Mathews starred with the ball with four wickets as Kolkata Knight Riders restricted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 135-7, before half-centuries from Manoj Tiwary and Brad Hodge set up an emphatic victory with four balls to spare.

Kolkata now have four points from their two matches, while it was the opening game for last year's finalists Bangalore.

Manoj Tiwary, who was out off the first ball in the opening game, gave Kolkata a lightning start along with Hodge. Tiwary reached his maiden IPL half-century off only 28 balls which included six fours and two sixes before drilling the ball back to Roelof van der Merwe for Kolkata's first wicket.

Hodge reached his fifty soon after but was out immediately, offering a catch to Manish Pandey in the deep. Captain Sourav Ganguly (23) was out with three runs still left but Cheteshwar Pujara and Owais Shah ensured no further hiccups as Kolkata overhauled their target with ease.

Earlier, Mathews took the key wickets of Manish Pandey, Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa and Roelof van der Merwe to end with impressive figures of 4-19 as Bangalore never got going in their opening IPL fixture after Ganguly won the toss and asked them to bat.

Opener Jacques Kallis was the only batsman to have a measure of the Kolkata bowling, but Bangalore kept losing wickets at the other end which meant the South African could never apply the long handle.

Kallis and Rahul Dravid staged a mini-revival before the Indian dragged the ball onto his stumps for 21. Kallis remained unbeaten on 65.

Kolkata Knight Riders 136 for 3 (Tiwary 50, Hodge 50) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 135 for 7 (Kallis 65*, Mathews 4-19) by seven wickets

Player of the match MK Tiwary (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Match : 2

Vaas the hero as Deccan crushed Chennai :

Veteran Sri Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas starred with the ball as defending champions Deccan Chargers returned to winning ways by brushing aside Chennai Super Kings by 31 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

Vaas took three wickets in his first two overs - Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina and Matthew Hayden - as Chennai, chasing a stiff 191 for victory, lost too many wickets at the start. Captain MS Dhoni (42) and Albie Morkel (42 not out) provided some late fireworks but Chennai could only manage 151 for the loss of nine wickets.

Chennai made a disastrous start to their run chase when Murali Vijay and Raina fell in the same over to Vaas. Hayden looked in fine touch but an adventurous shot to clear the short fine leg ended his stay.

Dhoni's entertaining 42 lasted 29 balls and included two sixes before Andrew Symonds bowled the Chennai skipper.

Earlier, Andrew Symonds returned to form with a half-century while Herschelle Gibbs scored a fine 45 to lift Deccan Chargers to 190-4.

Symonds cracked three sixes in his 43-ball knock while Gibbs struck five fours and a six as the duo added 95 runs for the third wicket, after captain Adam Gilchrist got the Chargers off to a lightning start after electing to bat.

Gilchrist reached 1000 runs in IPL games in his brutal 17-ball 38 but two quick wickets - that of Gilchrist and VVS Laxman - pegged the defending champions back.

Gibbs and Symonds steadied the Chargers before launching into the Super Kings, but the visitors were again pulled back by the run outs of both the batsmen. Rohit Sharma and Tirumalasetti Suman then lifted the team to a stiff total in the final overs.

Off-spinner R Ashwin was the most successful bowler for Chennai with 1-26 from his four overs, while star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan gave away 28 runs from his four.

Deccan Chargers 190 for 4 (Symonds 50, Gibbs 45) beat Chennai Super Kings 159 for 9 (Dhoni 42, Morkel 42*, Vaas 3-21) by 31 runs.

Player of the match C Vaas (Deccan Chargers)