New Delhi: Skipper Gautam Gambhir stroked his way to a fantastic 69 to steer Kolkata Knight Riders to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over a hapless Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Wednesday.
Chasing a modest 161 for victory, Gambhir and Robin Uthappa (47) stitched together a 106-run partnership to provide a perfect winning platform as Kolkata cantered to the target in 18.2 overs.
Starting on a cautious note, the duo gradually gained the momentum and punished the Delhi attack led by Mohammad Shami.
Gambhir picked a sliding leg-side delivery from Laxmi Ratan Shukla for a six in the mid-wicket region to make his intent clear in the fifth over of the innings as the southpaw got his second half-century of the season.
Uthappa also showed his aggressive side against JP Duminy to come down against the South African off-spinner and hit a huge six in the widish long-on region.
The duo gained confidence with every passing delivery to demoralise the Delhi attack as skipper Kevin Pietersen kept juggling his bowling options.
South African left-arm pacer Wayne Parnell finally managed to deny Uthappa his fifty as the Karnataka batsman was caught behind for 47 off 34 deliveries.
Manish Pandey (23 not out) then played the perfect supporting role to make sure that Kolkata did not repeat the Ahmedabad fiasco, where the team lost six wickets for two runs, eventually gifting the match to Rajasthan Royals.
Earlier electing to bat on a hot and humid day, Delhi posted a respectable 160 for five in 20 overs.
Duminy smacked 40 off 28 balls while Kedar Jadhav blasted 26 off 15 to manage a 55-run unbeaten stand and provide the necessary impetus in the end.
Kolkata opened the bowling with off-spinner Suryakumar Yadav with Kallis sharing the new ball.
Umesh Yadav drew first blood for Kolkata in the third over, getting De Kock (10)caught by Gautam Gambhir at mid-on. (PTI)
Brief scores:
DD: 160/5, 20 overs (JP Duminy 40*, D Karthik 36; Shakib 1-13)
KKR: 161/2, 18.2 overs (G Gambhir 69, R Uthappa 47; W Parnell 2-21)
