BANGALORE WIN BY FIVE WICKETS: KP exists the IPL on a high and Gayle on a low. Amusing match, though. Kolkata looked like they might just pull it off at one point. Their fielding was pathetic and they'll be kicking themselves for all the misfields and over throws. It's all from us for now. Join us in a little bit for round two. Cheers.

Over 20 Gayle 1-4-2-2-4 : 143-5 A single starts off the over, slogged past midwicket. Boucher then adds four to the total by dispatching the ball towards deep midwicket. That would be very welcome. Thanks to some more pathetic fielding, Kolkata collect a couple. Two more down to third man levels the scores. Boucher smacks the ball away towards fine leg for four more and for the victory.

Over 19 Sharma 1-1-1-0-W-1 : 130-5 – McCullum has a little chat to the lanky speedster and the batsmen take a few singles to start off the over. Van der Merwe then plays in his usual fashion. Vigorously swinging at anything, hoping to get a bat to it. WICKET! It costs him, though. Slogging away at nothing results in an edge through to the keeper who takes another good catch. A single completes the over which means Pandey is on strike.

Over 18 Hodge 1-1-6-2-1-0 : 126-4 A single a piece by the men in the middle to which Boucher responds with by coming down the track and lofting the ball over the long on fence for six. A couple more towards cover and a single out to deep midwicket concludes the over.

Over 17 Gayle 0-0-1-0-1-6 : 115-4 – Hobble, hobble in comes Gayle to trouble the batsmen. He doesn’t quite do it, a couple singles and a six slapped over long-on makes up the over. Van der Merwe is the new man in. South Africans all round.

Over 16 Hodge 1-1-6-W-1-W : 107-4 Kohli takes a single, driven towards extra cover and KP clips down to midwicket. Kohli then comes down the track and smacks the ball over long on. WICKET! Cheeky! Hodge puts some pace on the next ball and Kohli tries to play it late but the edge goes through to van Wyk who takes somewhat of a lucky catch by standing up to the stumps and the gloves are between his legs. A single follows to get Boucher off the mark. WICKET! KP, KP, oh KP. He shuffles across and tries to loft the ball over mid-on but Saha thinks fast, runs in and takes a good diving catch.

Over 15 Ganguly 4-2-0-1-1-1 : 98-2 – Kholi collects four runs by dragging the ball over the ring for four and the batsmen keep the scoreboard ticking with singles. This is going down to the wire. How exciting.

Over 14 Kartik 1wd-1-0-4-1-2-1 : 89-2 KP collects a lucky four runs thanks to a terrible fumble in the deep. The batsman towards cover and Dinda runs in from long-off but runs too far and fails to prevent the four, despite his best diving efforts.

Over 13 Sharma 1-0-1-W-1-0 : 78-2 – Kallis takes a single past gully and Pietersen collects one towards square leg. WICKET! Kallis tries to pull away but it was a shorter delivery and van Wyk calls the catch as his and pouches the top edge. Game on.

Over 12 Hodge W-2-1-1-1-1 : 75-1 Again! The strategic time out seems to have done the trick. WICKET! Hodges comes from around the stumps and Goswami plays a silly shot, trying to slog but it edges through to van Wyk, who is keeping by the way, and the batsman has to go. Here’s KP. Whooo!!

Over 11 Kartik 1-0-1-0-1-0 : 69-0 –Again, more singles. Kolkata are building the pressure now with their slower bowlers but they probably still missing Mendis.

Over 10 Ganguly 4-1-0-1-1-1 : 65-0 Goswami, after getting off to a watchful start, has really kept the boundaries coming today. He pulls away behind square leg for four more to start off the over and relieve some pressure. The batsmen continue to rotate the strike as we head to the strategy break.

Over 9 Gayle 1-0-1-1-0-1 : 57-0 – Still hobbling along, Gayle continues. A couple of gentle singles follow. Kolkata are doing alright now.

Over 8 Hodge 1-1lb-0-0-1-1 : 53-0 Good work by the slower bowlers now. They’re keeping the runs low and putting some pressure on Bangalore. A single towards the offside brings up the 50. A leg bye and couple more singles towards the offside conclude the over.

Over 7 Kartik 0-0-0-1-1-1 : 49-0 – Just three singles from the over but Bangalore don’t really need to rush. Kolkata, on the other hand, need a wicket.

Over 6 Gayle 1-0-1-0-0-4 : 46-0 Gayle, hobbling leg and all is brought into the attack. The batsmen take a couple before Kallis swings and just beats midwicket for four.

Over 5 Kartik 0-4-0-0-4-0 : 40-0 – A couple more fours off the blade of Goswami, towards long on and mid off respectively. Bangalore are on a roll here.

Over 4 Agarkar 0wd-4-4-0wd-2-1-1-1 : 32-0 - Another wide to start off the over from Agarkar! Poor. Goswami then thwacks two consecutive fours, driven through the covers and over mid-on respectively. Another wide follows and the next delivery is worked away towards square leg for a couple. Singles all round to complete the over.

Over 3 Sharma 0-0-0-3-0-4 : 18-0 – Goswami nudges the ball wide of the man at point and, initially, it was a mere single but an over throw results in the batsman collecting three. Kallis finishes off the over by cutting through the covers, well timed and well placed.

Over 2 Agarkar 0wd-0-0-1-4-0-0wd-1 : 10-0 - Wides are the trend today. Agarkar starts off with a wide outside off. Kallis takes a single towards backward square leg and Goswami racks up for runs by edging past backward square leg. Another wide follows and Goswami concludes the over with a single past gully.

Over 1 Sharma 0wd-1-0-0-0-0-0 : 2-0 – Sharma starts off with a wide down the leg side and Kallis gets off the mark by defending towards the off side. Goswami is in no mood to take risks and it’s a slow and watchful start by Bangalore.

GOOD TO GO: The second session is about to get underway. Bangalore require a below par score and Kolkata might regret dropping Mendis. Remember that your chirps and quirks are appreciated here.

Over 20 van der Merwe 1-1-1-1-1-1 : 139-6 - And there you have it. Kolkata finish the over off with singles off every delivery. That’s a well below par score for the Knightriders and it should be a piece of cake for Bangalore. Join us in a bit to see how it all unfolds.

Over 19 Kumar 1-4-4-1-0wd-0-1 : 133-6 – A single to start off the over, driven square before the batsman jet off. Van Wyk shows some intent by thwacking two consecutive fours to help the total look a bit more respectable.

Over 18 van der Merwe 2-1-2-W-1-2 : 121-6 - van Wyk and Shukla continue to run well between the wickets but singles just won’t get them to the total they desire. WICKET! A flighted delivery hits Lokhi on the pads after he was late with his sweep shot. That’s gone and it’s needles to say that more singles follow.

Over 17 Kumble 1-2-W-1-1-1 : 113-5 – A single down the ground to long on and a couple towards midwicket start off the over. WICKET! Excellent stuff by Kumble. Saha mistimed his swing and he gets a top edge which rockets to KP for a very simple catch. More singles follow but Kolkata look in a heap of trouble here.

Over 16 Appanna 1-1-4-0-1-6 : 107-4 - Both van Wyk and Saha collect a single before van Wyk sends a full and wide delivery down to the leg side fence for four. That’s what they need to be doing. Van Wyk rotates the strike and Saha comes down the track to smack one over midwicket for the maximum.

Over 15 Kumble 0-1-2-1-0-1 : 94-4 – Running between the wickets won’t do, unfortunately. But it’s what Kolkata seem content with at the moment. When are these two going to start taking some risks?

Over 14 Appanna 4-1-1-1-1-1 : 89-4 - van Wyk starts off the over by getting down on one knee and sweeping the ball fine and to the fence. Singles follow off every delivery to ensure that it’s a decent over for Kolkata.

Over 13 Pietersen 2-0-1-1-1-0 : 80-4 – Good running by the men in the middle, that’ll do for them for now. KP finishes with figures that aren’t half bad for a part-timer.

Over 12 Appanna 4-W-0-1-2-1 : 74-4 - Or maybe Gayle won’t wait. He smacks a full toss away fine for four. WICKET! What a scalp to bag. Gayle goes for the big heave but he didn’t get quite enough on it – Goswami runs in from midwicket to take the catch and falls onto his back after doing so. Van Wyk takes a single and Saha, the new man in, collects a couple by nudging the ball square and then rotates the strike by tapping away towards the leg side.

Over 11 Pietersem 1-0-1-1-1-1 : 66-3 – Right, we’re back and so is KP. With his sunglasses, of course. Gayle and van Wyk take turns to rotate the strike a couple of times. Kolkata will probably wait a while before having a good thwack.

Over 10 van der Merwe 0-1-0-1-1-2 : 53-3 – Gayle hobbles along and drives for a single down to long on. Van Wyk goes through the covers for one more and the man from the Caribbean takes a single towards long-on again. Half a chance goes down as van Wyk edges the ball past the man at slip. The batsmen take a couple. Now it’s time for the strategic break.

Over 9 Kumar 1-0-W-1-0-0 : 55-3 – Gayle takes a single off the first delivery by cutting away square. WICKET! After defending, Dada wanted to get cracking. Slower, fuller and short ball by Kumar and Ganguly lofts the ball towards deep midwicket and Kallis takes the simplest of catches. That’s his signature error. Van Wyk gets off the mark with a single down to third man. Gayle now has a runner. That’s not good, not for Kolkata or the West Indies.

Over 8 Kumble 0-4-1-0-0-0 : 53-2 – Risky stuff by Gayle now. He pulls down towards midwicket and “catch” is the call but you’re not catching that, it drops short of the fielder and hops to the fence. A single follows as Gayle fails to pick out the gap this time.

Over 6 Kumar 0-0-1-1-1-0 : 48-2 – Very good over from Praveen as Gayle and Ganguly have to settle for a few singles.

Over 6 Kumble 0-0-1-W-0-0 : 45-2 – Erratic bowling changes by KP here. Gayle takes a single wide of cover and Hodge defends one before the seemingly absurd strategy wins again. WICKET! Kumble tosses the ball up, Hodge plays the shot very late and ends up being struck on the pads. The bowler asks the question and the umpire answers it. Dada strolls out to the middle.

Over 5 Kumar 0-2-0-4-0-1 : 44-1 – Everything is balanced again as Kumar is handed the ball. Gayle collects a couple by pulling over midwicket. Kumar pitches the ball up and Gayle sends it through mid-on and all the way to the fence. A single concludes the over and allows Gayle to keep the strike.

Over 4 P Singh 0-0-6-4-0-4 : 37-1 – We return to convetion after a burst of madness from KP as Singh is brought into the attack. Hodge defends, watchfully before hoping arms and having a crack. He starts off with a six, smacked over long on and follows up with a four driven through the covers. Four more, between cover and cover point concludes the over. Good, aggressive cricket by Hodge.

Over 3 Pietersen 0-0-1-4-5wd-0-0 : 23-1 – Pietersen continues, sunglasses on and all. Hodge takes a single just wide of square leg and Gayle dispatches a long hop over midwicket. The batsmen are gifted five runs thanks to a very wide delivery which beats the bat and the keeper.

Over 2 van der Merwe 0-4-1-1-0-4 : 13-1 – Now there’s something. Spin from both ends to start things off. Gayle defends the first delivery and responds by smashing one off the front foot and all the way over deep square leg, one bounce for four. A couple of singles follow and Gayle concludes the over by driving back past the bowler for four more runs. That was struck pretty hard.

Over 1 Pietersen W-0wd-0-1-0-1-0 : 3-1 – KP has decided to open the bowling and as cries of “egocentric what not” rise from the office, Mr. Pietersen sticks it to the critics and takes a wicket. WICKET! McCullum tries to slash the ball away and he ends up under cutting it to the man at point. Kohli makes no mistake and everyone, except for KP, is dumbstruck. Hodge strolls out and gets off the mark with a single down to square leg. Gayle opens his account with a single towards the same area. That’s a very good start for Bangalore. Shocking to say the least.

AND WE'RE OFF: Gayle and McCullum at the crease and Pietersen has the ball. Yes, Kevin Pietersen.

TEAMS:

Kolkata: Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge, Sourav Ganguly, Laxmi Shukla, Morne van Wyk, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Ashok Dinda

Bangalore: Sreevats Goswami, Jacques Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Manish Pandey, Roelof van der Merwe, Mark Boucher, B Akhil, Praveen Kumar, Pankaj Singh, Anil Kumble, KP Appanna

GET IN TOUCH: If you have anything, preferably cricket related, to say then why not drop us a line over here.

CRAZY TIMES: There is a Zulu on my pitch. I am not kidding. Jeremy Coney has a traditional Zulu warrior out there with him to analyze the pitch, apparently it's going to be a belter. Uh huh. And now he is dancing, the warrior, not Coney.

TOSS: Kolkata have won the toss and they'll have a bat first. Ajantha Mendis is out for Kolkata and it'll be KP's last chance to justify his price tag. Morne van Wyk is in for Kolkata.

HELLO and welcome to our live over-by-over coverage of the 19th game of the IPL. So we're one thirds of the way there. Hooray! Your feedback is appreciated here and we'll have you updated on teams, toss, pitch and all that other lovely stuff as soon as possible.