Gambhir fires Kolkata Knight Riders to big win over Sunrisers Hyderabad

An imperious knock from skipper Gautum Gambhir has powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a clinical eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

Gambhir blasted an unbeaten 90 off 60 balls to help the two-time champions seal their second win in this edition at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.

Opting to bat first, hosts Hyderabad were reduced to 50-4 by the Knight Riders bowlers who were bolstered by the return of spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine.

Eoin Morgan (51) and Naman Ojha (37) then partnered in a recovery stand to help their team post 142-7.

But Kolkata openers Gambhir and Robin Uthappa (38) fashioned a superb 92-run opening stand to take the game away from the Sunrisers who slipped to their second straight defeat.

The Knight Riders were off to a sedate yet steady start on a strip which was slowing down with time.

Uthappa and Gambhir, who looked comfortable while dealing with the inconsistent bounce, scored 26 runs in the powerplay.

Gambhir's impeccable footwork complemented his wide range of strokeplay as he studded his innings with 13 boundaries and a six. The 34-year old opener reached 5,000 Twenty20 runs en route his 28th IPL half-century.

Gambhir cracked Karn Sharma for three boundaries in an over before Uthappa was trapped in front in the 13th.

Andre Russell (2) was promoted at No.3 in hopes of some fireworks but Mustafizur Rahman (1-29) snared his wicket in the next over.

The young southpaw unleashed an inswinging yorker to smash into the stumps and leave the Jamaican, who tried to dig it out of the block hole, on the floor.

It looked like the Sunrisers were in with a chance, but then Manish Pandey (11 not out) joined his captain in the middle as Kolkata sealed their first away win.

Earlier, the Knight Riders yet again put up a disciplined bowling effort to restrict the home team to a below-par total.

Hyderabad were off to a poor start, losing the key wickets of Shikhar Dhawan (6) and skipper David Warner (13) early.

Dhawan continued his struggle for form when he was caught behind by Uthappa in the third over. Pacer Umesh Yadav then outfoxed Warner with a cutter, forcing the Aussie batsman to scoop it to short cover.

In the last over of the powerplay, Umesh struck another blow by taking out Moses Henriques (6) as the Sunrisers slipped to 36-3.

Morgan provided impetus in the 13th over when he hit Sunil Narine for back-to-back boundaries, much to the delight of the crowd.

The England captain tried to up the ante with Ojha, yielding 13 more in the next over of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

It took a brilliant relay catch at the edge of the boundary to break the 67-run partnership.

A miscue from Ojha went soaring straight down the ground where Russell showed great athleticism to grab the ball and kept the presence of mind to throw it back to Chawla on his way out of the boundary ropes to complete a stunning catch.

Looking for a late assault, Morgan also fell trying to heave one to the leg side. With the fall of his wicket the Sunrisers' hopes of reaching a competitive total shattered.

Umesh Yadav bagged three wickets while Morkel took two. Shakib (18 in 3 overs) went wicketless.

Brief scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 142/7 (Morgan 51, Ojha 37; Yadav 3/28, Morkel 2/35)

Kolkata Knight Riders: 146/2 (Gambhir 90 not out, Uthappa 38)