New Delhi: The Match 3 of IPL 10 saw Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) toying with toothless Gujarat Lions bowling attack to script a facile 10-wicket victory riding batting heroics of skipper Gautam Gambhir and Australian Chris Lynn in their opening Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Friday.
Gambhir (76 off 48) and Lynn (93 off 41) did not let the cheerleaders rest from the word go chasing 184 to win as the Lions had posted 183/4 after being asked to bat first.
The unbroken opening stand of 184 between the pair became the highest in IPL history for the first wicket, overcoming the 167-run partnership between Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors.
READ: Gautam Gambhir gives his verdict on Aussie hard-hitter Chris Lynn
The historic stand between the the Indo-Australian pairing got some of the greatest cricketers of past and present generation hailing them on Twitter.
"Always a dangerous sign when your attacking batsmen also start playing sensibly and rotate the strike," tweeted Sachin Tendulkar.
Always a dangerous sign when your attacking batsmen also start playing sensibly and rotate the strike.
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) April 7, 2017
"180 too little!!Batting first needs to come with some more proactive strategies.#IPL2017," wrote Ravichandran Ashwin.
180 too little!!Batting first needs to come with some more proactive strategies.#IPL2017
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) April 7, 2017
Dale Steyn and Michael Clarke also couldn't resist lauding the action they witnessed getting unfolded on Friday.
First Ipl game in 9 years I've watched from the comfort of my couch.
Must say, i'd rather be sweaty on the bench than this pic.twitter.com/TmMPqwobmC— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) April 7, 2017
"First Ipl game in 9 years I've watched from the comfort of my couch. Must say, i'd rather be sweaty on the bench than this," the South African Dale Stey's tweet read.
Power and Class for @KKRiders this could be the best opening pair in the tournament.
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) April 7, 2017
"Power and Class for @KKRiders this could be the best opening pair in the tournament," tweeted the former Aussie captain Michael Clarke.
The game also saw, Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina surpassing India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli as the highest run getter in the T20 league.
