Rohit Sharma Continues Love Affair With Eden Gardens, Misses Second IPL Ton by a Whisker

Rohit Sharma's love affair with the iconic Eden Gardens continued as the eight edition of the Indian Premier League got under way in front of a packed house. The elegant opening batsman had slammed a record-shattering 264 vs Sri Lanka the last time he played at the Eden and five months later, leading Mumbai Indians, he smashed a 65-ball 98 to blunt Kolkata Knight Riders' early advantage. Mumbai scored 168/3 in their 20 overs. (Blog | Scorecard)

After Gautam Gambhir called correctly to bowl on a slow Eden Gardens pitch, Mumbai Indians were jolted immediately. Morne Morkel breathed fire to snare two wickets while Shakib-al-Hasan picked up one as the visitors slumped to 37/3 in the sixth over. (Yuvraj Takes a Dig After Gambhir Breaks his Bat)

However, after weathering the early storm, Rohit found an able ally in Corey Anderson (55 off 41 balls), the man who heled the record for the fastest ODI hundred not so long ago. Kolkata's bowlers were hard to score off, and the fielding was top-class as usual. But the Mumbai Indians skipper was composed and waited for his opportunities. He scored off the loose balls and let the more aggressive Anderson do the rest.

This would have been Rohit's second hundred in the Indian Premier League. In the World Cup, the Mumbai batsman had struggled to give India good starts and only redeemed himself with a hundred against Bangladesh in the quarter-final. This knock should give Rohit plenty of confidence in the eighth edition of the IPL but he would have been a happier man had his side won. Thanks to a classy 57 by Gautam Gambhir and blistering knocks by Suryakumar Yadav (46 not out) and Manish Pandey (40), Kolkata Knight Riders won by seven wickets.