Cuttack: Kolkata Knight Riders jumped to third place in the points table after recording a five-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in a rain-affected low-scoring Indian Premier League match, hereon Sunday.
Kolkata bowlers did a splendid job in helpful conditions as they restricted Deccan to a modest 126 for seven after winning the toss with L Balaji (2/22) and Sunil Narine (2/26) scalping two wickets each.
Paceman Brett Lee, though, was the most impressive Kolkata bowler as he conceded just 15 runs in his four overs. He bowled 15 dot balls and also effected one dismissal.
Shikhar Dhawan (50) was top scorer for Deccan as he scored a run-a-ball knock while the other batsmen were guilty of playing reckless shots. Kolkata overhauled the target with six balls to spare and had to work hard for runs as Deccan put up a good resistance.
It was Deccan’s fifth defeat in a row and they are yet to win a contest in this edition of the league.
Batsmen needed to apply themselves to get runs on the Barabati track, where the ball was not coming on to the bat. The match had started late by an hour due to rain.Kolkata (+0.432) now have eight points, same as of Pune Warriors (+0.290) and Chennai Super Kings (+0.033), but are positioned ahead of them due to better Net Run Rate. (PTI)