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Preview: Delhi Daredevils will have to play out of their skins to try and stop the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) juggernaut when the two sides lock horns in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game here at the Eden Gardens on Friday. KKR have been in sublime form, winning two back-to-back games in convincing fashion. While the twice IPL champions skittled Royal Challengers Bangalore for the tournament’s lowest score of 49 to win by a massive 82 runs here last Sunday, skipper Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa massacred Rising Pune Supergiant bowlers while chasing a 183-run target with ease. [caption id=“attachment_3411118” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan, captain of KKR and DD respectively. Sportzpics[/caption] “I thought we are a good chasing side and we are confident of chasing anything. Restricting the opposition to 180 was terrific and the credit needs to go to the bowlers,” said Gambhir after the Pune game as his side registered their sixth win out of eight games in this year’s IPL. Gambhir has been in terrific form, scoring 305 runs in eight matches so far with an average of 50.83. The southpaw has the Orange Cap, given to highest scorer in the tournament, and is happy to be able to contribute in the team’s cause. “It’s good to keep contributing, I keep saying Orange Cap does not matter if you don’t have points as a team. But it is good to score runs and when you are, score as much as you can,” added Gambhir, who has played 224 Twenty20 innings from 228 matches so far. Nathan Coulter-Nile, who bowled a fiery first spell at the Eden against RCB, was rested for the Pune game and the Australian quick is expected to be drafted back in the side against Delhi on a track which helps fast bowlers. Sunil Narine seems to have blended well in the opening slot and is doing his job of hitting big in the Powerplay to good effect. Coming to the visitors, the Zaheer Khan-led Delhi side have won just twice in their six matches. In the last meeting of the two sides, KKR showed champions intent to wriggle out of a hole and script a four-wicket win at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. Chasing a modest 168, the men in purple were 21/3 but Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan bailed their team out wonderfully. Click here for the full schedule of IPL 2017 Delhi will have to improve their batting if they are to harbour any chances of making it to the playoffs. Barring Sanju Samson and England’s Sam Billings, none of the batsmen have been consistent. Samson’s brilliant century against Rising Pune Supergiant was the highlight and in the next game Billings’ gritty 50 helped Delhi win two matches on the trot. But since then, the Rahul Dravid-coached side have lost three in a row. Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Chris Morris, Zaheer and Amit Mishra make a good reading as far as their bowling is concerned and they would look to back their strength against KKR. In the head-to-head count, Delhi have lost 11 and won eight of the 19 meetings so far against KKR. Squads: Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Lynn, Umesh Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Sheldon Jackson, Ankit Singh Rajpoot, Trent Boult, Chris Woakes, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rovman Powell, R. Sanjay Yadav, Ishank Jaggi, Darren Bravo, Sayan Ghosh, AColin de Grandhomme Delhi Daredevils: Zaheer Khan(captain), Angelo Mathews, Corey Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Ankit Bawne, Aditya Tare, Murugan Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Shashank Singh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Sam Billings, Sanju Samson, Chris Morris, Carlos Brathwaite, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Chama Milind, Khaleel Ahmed, Pratyush Singh. With inputs from IANS
IPL 2017 Highlights, KKR vs DD in Kolkata, cricket score and updates: Uthappa, Gambhir guide KKR to 7-wicket win
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Daredevils (DD) face off in Match 32 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday.
 "IPL 2017 Highlights, KKR vs DD in Kolkata, cricket score and updates: Uthappa, Gambhir guide KKR to 7-wicket win")
'Clinical' is the word we use often to describe a #KKR win. It wasn't any different today. Well oiled unit. Good as gold. #KKRvDD #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 28, 2017
Gautam Gambhir named the Man of the Match for his brilliant 71 off 52 balls. And in a fantastic gesture, donates the prize money to the families of the CRPF personnel killed in the Sukma attack.
Clinical performance at Eden!#Gambhir and #Uthappa played their part perfectly as we continued our prime form in #IPL2017.#AmiKKR #KKRvDD pic.twitter.com/E83Bsbnjnt
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 28, 2017
Too easy for us in the end!
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 28, 2017
We chase the target of 161 in 16.2 overs. Great job, #Knights! 👏 #DusKiDahaad #AmiKKR #KKRvDD
One of the stories of the #IPL is how #KKR have mastered the new conditions at the Eden having been the kings of the earlier slow surface
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 28, 2017
That was an exhibition of power and form from #KKR. Not just @robbieuthappa but @GautamGambhir making a statement.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 28, 2017
This is the third consecutive win for Kolkata Knight Riders and the fourth consecutive defeat for Delhi Daredevils in this IPL. Moreover, Kolkata Knight Riders have won their last 12 matches while chasing at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in IPL.
Most runs by captains in IPL:
3311 – GAUTAM GAMBHIR*
3270 – MS Dhoni
2872 – Virat Kohli
After 16.2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 161/3 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 71 , Sheldon Jackson 12)
Kolkata Knight Riders win by 7 wickets!
A four and a wide! That’s all that it takes for Gambhir to bring up a comfortable seven-wicket win for the Knight Riders, who further consolidate their position at the top of the table with their seventh win of the tournament!
Gautam Gambhir becomes the third player to score 4000 runs in IPL after Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina.
Least innings to score 4000 runs in IPL:
128 – Virat Kohli
140 – Suresh Raina, GAUTAM GAMBHIR*
After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 156/3 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 67 , Sheldon Jackson 12)
Jackson, playing his first match of the ongoing tournament, gets off the mark with a stylish punch on the backfoot through point, beating a diving Cummins. Gambhir then brings up the 150 with a push through the gap to the right of extra-cover. Another pull in the last ball of the over that runs away to the leg side. 16 off the over, and KKR are on the brink of a win now!
KKR need 5 to win from 24 balls.
Indian players scoring 6000-plus runs in T20 cricket:
Suresh Raina
Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma
GAUTAM GAMBHIR*
After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 140/3 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 62 , Sheldon Jackson 1)
Rabada back into the attack, and he has been one unlucky man so far, with an opportunity to get Uthappa dismissed on 9 being put down by Mishra and Samson. But the man bowls a superb over to somewhat peg KKR’s progress, castling Pandey with a 146 kmph-bolt, while giving away just two runs in this over. Second timeout called at the end of this over.
KKR need 21 to win from 30 balls.
BOWLED EM! Rabada strikes for the second time in the innings, and once again smashes the stumps, angling the ball into Pandey and getting a deflection onto the wickets off his pad. Pandey was beaten for pacer here, with the delivery measuring 146 kmph. KKR 139/3
Pandey b Rabada 5(4)
Most fifty-plus scores while chasing in IPL:
20 – GAUTAM GAMBHIR*
19 – David Warner
12 – Ajinkya Rahane
12 – Rohit Sharma
Players involved in most 100-plus stands in IPL:
17 – Virat Kohli
15 – Chris Gayle
14 – GAUTAM GAMBHIR*
12 – David Warner
11 – AB de Villiers/ Shikhar Dhawan
10 – ROBIN UTHAPPA*
After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 138/2 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 61 , Manish Pandey 5)
Back-to-back boundaries for Gambhir in Mishra’s third over, sweeping one towards fine-leg before going for a well-placed cut through backward point in the subsequent delivery. Gambhir completes 4,000 IPL runs with a single in the penultimate ball of the over, with new batsman Manish Pandey helping himself to his first boundary with a pull at the end of the over.
KKR need 23 to win from 36 balls.
After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 125/2 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 52 , Manish Pandey 1)
FOUR! Anderson into his third over, and is greeted with a flamboyant pull towards midwicket by the KKR captain! The latter tries setting off for a quick single in the next delivery, and uthappa is caught well short of his crease at the striker’s end, which finally ends his entertaining stay at the crease at the 59-run mark. Gambhir brings up his second-consecutive boundary with a dab towards deep backward point.
KKR need 36 to win from 42 balls.
Run out was the only way Delhi could have got Uthupa. But by now he's got them battered and virtually beaten
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 28, 2017
OUT! Gambhir tries setting off for a quick single, and Uthappa is caught well short of his ground at the other end, thanks to a brilliant direct hit! Finally brings the 2nd-wicket partnership to an end! Superb work by Karun Nair at backward point. KKR 117/2
Uthappa run out (Nair) 59(33)
After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 113/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 41 , Robin Uthappa (W) 59)
Mishra into his second over. Half-hearted appeal for a caught-behind by DD keeper Pant as KKR counterpart Uthappa looked to go for a late cut. Uthappa goes down on one knee and smashes the fourth ball of the over down towards long-on for a big one to bring up the 100-stand for the 2nd wicket.
KKR need 48 to win from 48 balls.
After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 104/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 39 , Robin Uthappa (W) 52)
Finally a good over for DD after a few nightmarish ones, with just three singles coming off this over. With the required run-rate now hovering around the six-per-over mark at the moment, the two can afford a breather at the moment by rotating the strike between themselves.
KKR need 57 to win from 54 balls.
After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 101/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 37 , Robin Uthappa (W) 51)
Anderson introduced into the attack in the 10th over, with KKR appearing to run away with the game at the moment. The team 100 comes up in this over after Gambhir slaps a slow short ball from Anderson towards the cow-corner boundary. Eight off the over.
Exactly a run-a-ball needed for KKR at the halfway mark in their innings. Nine wickets in hand. And perhaps the most successful pair in the ongoing tournament out there at the moment. You do the math!
KKR need 60 to win from 60 balls.
Most 50-plus scores by wicket-keepers in IPL:
17 – MS Dhoni, ROBIN UTHAPPA*
13 – Adam Gilchrist
12 – Dinesh Karthik
Gambhir and Uthupa simply killing it!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 28, 2017
After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 93/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 31 , Robin Uthappa (W) 49)
Cummins from the other end, and Uthappa goes for another pull off a back-of-length delivery over the midwicket boundary, getting his third six in the process. Goes for a lofted drive down the ground, with the ball flying over Mishra to run off for his fifth boundary. 13 off this over, with KKR now needing a little over a run-a-ball at the moment.
After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 80/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 30 , Robin Uthappa (W) 37)
SIX! FOUR! SIX! That’s what Uthappa does to Morris in the latter’s second over of the innings as he looks to make the Daredevils pay for the dropped chance a couple of overs ago by going hammer and tongs in this one. 19 runs are gathered in this over, with the keeper-batsman now racing ahead of Gambhir. Meanwhile, the run-rate has moved to 10 per over.
Of catches dropped this season, one of Uthupa falling between Samson & Mishra so shocking as to be farcical. Pehle aap, pehle aap or wot?
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 28, 2017
After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 61/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 29 , Robin Uthappa (W) 19)
Amit Mishra introduced into the attack in the first over after powerplay, and Gambhir dances down the track to loft the ball towards cow-corner in the first ball. Uthappa goes for a late cut in the third ball of the over. Gambhir goes for the lofted drive towards wide long-off to bring up the 50-stand with Uthappa!
After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 47/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 20 , Robin Uthappa (W) 14)
Rabada bowls the final over of powerplay, and he loses his balance in the second ball of the over. DROPPED! Uthappa top-edges a back-of-length delivery straight over the square-leg region, and confusion between Mishra and Samson reigns supreme, as the ball lands between the fielders thanks to an utter lack of communication. Four leg-byes and a boundary off Uthappa’s bat follow to rub salt on the wound.
That could easily rank as the worst drop of the season so far!
After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 36/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 18 , Robin Uthappa (W) 9)
Cummins introduced from the other end, with as many as five bowlers being used in the poweplay so far. Uthappa edges a cross-seamer first ball with soft hands, and edges it to the slips, where it falls just short of Morris. Gambhir tucks one away towards the leg-side, beating short fine-leg to get his second boundary. Cummins responds with a back-of-length delivery outside off that narrowly beats his outside edge. Six off the over.
After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 30/1 ( Gautam Gambhir (C) 13 , Robin Uthappa (W) 8)
Morris into the attack in the fourth over, and starts off with a delivery that shapes away from Gambhir in the first ball of the over. Stays tight in this over, with just four coming off it.
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