Kolkata Knight Riders later
defeated Rajasthan Royals for the second time this season, winning by eight
wickets with more than six overs to spare in Kolkata.
Delhi's James Hopes (13 not
out) struck a six and a four off Jessie Ryder in the final over after Aaron
Finch (25) and Venugopal Rao (31) helped narrow down the chase.
“It's a happy moment for us,
finally we have a win,” Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag said.
The Warriors batted first
after losing the toss, scoring 187-5 with captain Yuvraj Singh hitting an
undefeated 32-ball 66 and then taking 4-29.
Daredevils finished with
190-7 in 19.2 overs following a middle-order wobble after David Warner (46) and
Sehwag (37) provided a 75-run start.
Daredevils needed a daunting
41 off the final 18 deliveries but Finch hit two successive sixes off Shrikant
Wagh in the 18th over and Rao struck a six and a four off Yuvraj in the
following over to set up the exciting finish.
Both batsmen fell to Yuvraj.
Ryder hit five sixes and five
fours in a 27-ball 60 for the Warriors and began the innings by blasting Rao
for two successive sixes. He was caught in the deep after charging spinner
Shahbaz Nadeem, but Yuvraj kept the run rate up with five sixes and four
boundaries.
Lakshmipathy Balaji took 3-15
and Bangladesh spinner Shakib Al Hasan chipped in with 2-21 to help Knight
Riders bowl out former champion Royals for 81 in 15.2 overs.
Put in to bat, Royals began
badly following early strikes by Balaji and spinner Iqbal Abdulla and two
run-outs. Yusuf Pathan had the dangerous Ross Taylor stumped for 6, and Balaji
returned to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane and Ashok Menaria in quick succession.
Shakib then sent back Amit
Singh and Shaun Tait for ducks off successive deliveries.
Knight Riders lost Jacques
Kallis for a duck but skipper Gautam Gambhir hit 35 and put on 54 runs with
Manoj Tiwary (30) as they blasted 21 off a single over from Tait to race to
victory.
“Getting the opposition out
for 81 was a fantastic effort,” Gambhir said. “You cannot take any game in this
format lightly. Once you get the momentum, it is important to continue. Once we
got Brett and Shakib in our team, and Balaji, it is a fantastic attack.” On
Monday, Kochi Tuskers Kerala play reigning champion Chennai Super Kings.
