The South African struck a solid 45-ball 53 as the host side
posted 163-4 at Eden Gardens, the highest total of the tournament thus far.
In reply, Deccan Chargers could only manage 154-8 with
left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah claiming three crucial wickets.
Kallis, who scored 54 against Chennai Super Kings, laid the
foundation for a competitive score by adding 51 for the first wicket with
Manvinder Bisla (19) and carried on with confidence.
After smashing seven fours, Kallis hoisted South African
teammate J.P. Duminy over the mid-wicket fence to reach his half-century. But
Kallis attempted a similar shot off the next ball and was caught by Shikhar
Dhawan just inside the fence.
“The pitch was slow and offering some turn,” said Kallis,
who also took four catches later to win the Man-of-the-Match award. “At the
halfway stage, we were looking at a score of 140-odd but we got more than 160.”
Manoj Tiwary, who hit Duminy for two sixes in an over, contributed a useful 30
not out off 21 balls. Captain Gautam Gambhir struck 29 and Yusuf Pathan 22 to
further boost the total.
For the Chargers, leg-spinner Amit Mishra bowled well in the
final overs to finish with 2-19, but the batsmen failed to take inspiration
from him.
The reply started on the wrong note as the Chargers lost a
couple of early wickets.
Bharat Chipli enjoyed two lives early on and top-scored with
48, but the Kumar Sangakkara-led team lacked punch in the middle-order.
Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian made 25 off 13 balls but the others
failed to get quick runs on a pitch that seemed to deteriorate.
Abdullah, whom Gambhir used with the new ball, finished with
three for 24 while medium-pacers Rajat Bhatia and Jaidev Unadakt bagged two
wickets each.
“They had got a good score but we could have chased it,”
said Sangakkara. “We lost too many wickets and that is a matter of concern for
us.” This was the first win in two matches for the Knight Riders, who had lost
by two runs to Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener. Deccan Chargers
fell to its second defeat, having lost to Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders 163-4 in 20 overs (Jacques
Kallis 53, Manoj Tiwary 30 not out, Amit Mishra 2-19) def. Deccan Chargers 154-8
in 20 overs (Bharat Chipli 48, Daniel Christian 25, Iqbal Abdullah 3-24, Rajat
Bhatia 2-29, Jaidev Unadakt 2-36).
