Gambhir plays captain's innings as KKR break losing streak

Result: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets. Toss: DD won the toss and chose to bat first. DD 160-5 in 20 overs: After a lackluster top-order showing by Delhi Daredevils, Jean Paul Duminy and Kedar Jadhav combined well to take the hosts to a respectable total. Duminy smashed 40 off 28 balls while Jadhav blasted 26 off 15 in their 55-run unbeaten stand, providing the necessary impetus in the end. Delhi made a stuttering start as KKR changed bowlers at either end to bottle up the flow of runs. KKR opened the bowling with off-spinner Suryakumar Yadav, who shared the new ball with Jacques Kallis. But it was Umesh Yadav who drew first blood for Kolkata in the third over, getting De Kock caught by Gautam Gambhir at mid-on for 10. [caption id=“attachment_1513023” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Those initial ducks seem to be forgotten now as Gautam Gambhir continued the rediscovery of his form. BCCI[/caption] Skipper Kevin Pietersen (6) looked completely out of sorts in his short stay at the wicket. The England batsman eventually ran himself out while trying to take a needless run. Murali Vijay (24) and Dinesh Karthik (36) tried to stabilise the innings as KKR continued to juggle their bowling options. The duo added 31 runs for the third-wicket as both the batsmen mixed the right dose of caution and aggression to give some momentum to the Delhi innings. Trying to push the scoring rate, Vijay finally holed out a simple catch to Sunil Narine at long on as Kallis got his first wicket. The hard-working Karthik continued to put runs on board and gave Kallis a hard time as he hit the Proteas medium-pacer for a six and two fours in the 11th over. Kallis though got his revenge when he caught the Delhi batsman in the very next over off Shakib al Hasan for 36.  The over-ambitious Karthik tried the paddle scoop again only to top edge the ball to short fine leg. Kolkata’s spin ace Sunil Narine finally struck in the  16th over to end LR Shukla’s agony for 10 by cleaning him up.  But this proved a blessing in disguise for Delhi as new man Jadhav smacked a four and a six off Vinay to provide some entertainment to the Kotla crowd. Duminy and Jadhav scored at a run-rate of over 13 in the final four overs. KKR: Those initial ducks seem to be forgotten now as Gautam Gambhir continued the rediscovery of his form with a solid 69 (56b, 5x4, 2x6) to lead his team  a solid win. KKR’s batsmen have been blamed of being wasteful in previous matches but didn’t let their impatience get the better of them this time — Gambhir and Robin Uthappa (47 in 34b, 5x4, 1x6) stitching up a brilliantly paced 106-run partnership (11.5 overs). Uthappa was dismissed by a quality delivery from Wayne Parnell — the ball cutting into him and the umpire raising his finger for LBW. But Gambhir continued his onslaught — taking clever ones and twos and occasionally cracking a boundary. It was clear something special was needed to dismiss him and it was Karthik who provided it — he’d dropped him earlier but took a stunning one-handed catch after Gambhir had top-edged Parnell’s short delivery. But DD knew the wicket came too late — Jacques Kallis (10 off 6) and Manish Pandey (23 off 14) saw KKR past the finish line with 10 balls to spare. Turning point: Gambhir was dropped at 18 by wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik — not as much a drop as a complete misjudgment. But a wicket at that point could have made things harder for KKR. Man of the match: Gambhir for his excellent innings — no unnecessary risks and excellent concentration. Executed his plan perfectly.