Suryakumar Yadav continued to keep the runs flowing at the other end and guided the Knight Riders to 59 runs at the end of the powerplay to keep in touch with the required run rate.
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Kolkata got off to their worst start in the IPL this season, losing their trusted opening pair of Robin Uthappa (0) and Gambhir (11) for just 31 runs.
Reeling at 31/2, Suryakumar and Shakib Al Hasan tried to get their run-chase back on track but Rajat Bhatia (2-19), arguably Pune’s best bowler in the match, bowled the Bangladesh all-rounder to provide a crucial breakthrough to his side.
Suryakumar, the Man of the Match, was the top-scorer for KKR with an innings of 60 off 49 balls. The slowness of the surface was evidenced by Gambhir rushing the overs through his spinners, and introducing Yadav only in the 17 over. After 10 overs, Kolkata were 78 for three, needing 83 more. Suryakumar Yadav looked determined to seal his place at No. 3 with some gritty batting and brought up his fifty in the 12th over.
He muscled another maximum off Murugan Ashwin in the 14th but just as the pendulum seemed to be swinging in favour of Kolkata, Bhatia picked up his second wicket – Pathan rapped on the pads, plum in front.
Dhoni, meanwhile, provided a trademark finish to the innings and made an unbeaten 12-ball 23, hitting 17 runs off Morne Morkle’s final over.
Smith joined Rahane in a second wicket stand that soothed nerves in the dressing room as Supergiants reached 61 for one at the halfway mark. Next ball however, Chawla lost his calm by chipping a slower ball into the hands of Steve Smith at long-on. Steven Smith and Ajinkya Rahane have been watchful after the fall of du Plessis, moreover the Kolkata bowlers have been spot on.
The Supergiants managed 160 for five against KKR’s disciplined bowling.
But with five runs needed from four balls Yadav showed he was not feeling any pressure as he smashed Thisara Perera for a straight six to seal a close win.
Ajinkya Rahane en route to his half-century against KKR on Sunday. Albie Morkel also got a couple of big hits.
38- This is the 38th time in IPL a wicket has fallen off the first ball of the innings. With the team loitering, at 80/2 Thisara Perera came out in an attempt to up the scoring rate. While Rahane brought up a hard-fought fifty, off 42 deliveries, Perera made his intentions clear when he slogged one that went over the mid-wicket fence despite not timing the hit too well. As wickets tumbled around him, Rahane batted with greater composure.
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Rahane hit two sixes in the next two overs but was dismissed in the 18th over, chipping a return catch to Sunil Narine (1-32). The onus was then on Yadav and Narine to take the team over the line. A typically Indian wicket – slow, with something it for the batsmen and at times, two paced – was laid out at Pune and it proved to be the flawless tonic that that set the tone for a fantastic contest.
