Kolkata Knight Riders found themselves on the losing side yet again, when they went down by fivc wickets to Royal Challengers Bangalore, in a match that both teams determined to lose. If that sounds like too harsh a judgement, then consider the facts. Batting first, the Knight Riders lost McCullum first ball to (of all people) Kevin Pietersen, who had decided to open the bowling! On a track that seemed on a slower side and against a spin attack brilliantly headed by Kumble (4-0-16-2), they never really got back into the swing of things in spite of handy forties from Gayle and van Wyk. 139-6 seemed hardly competitive enough, especially when Kallis and newcomer Goswami had guided the Challengers to 69 without loss in 11 overs. 

But it seemed the Royal Challengers had a deathwish of their own. The following overs saw things deteriorate so badly that the last over began with them needing 10 runs to win. Mark Boucher got them off Chris Gayle, but one suspects that the Challengers’ celebrations would be muted. We cannot see either of these teams going far with this kind of performance.