IPL 10 KKR vs DD: Gambhir scores 71* to lead Kolkata to 7-wicket win

Kolkata: Skipper Gautam Gambhir once again led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to an emphatic 7-wicket victory with 22-balls remaining against Delhi Daredevils (DD) in Indian Premier League match at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.

Gambhir remained unbeaten at 71 off just 52 balls, hitting 11 flourishing fours. KKR’s pinch-hitter opener Sunil Narine failed to explode this time as he got out after adding only 4 runs. Robin Uthappa, who played a match-winning inning in the previous match, once again scored a rapid fire half century. He scored 59 runs off only 33 balls, with 5 fours and 4 sixes.

Delhi Daredevils, coming in to defend a modest total of 160/6, did many blunders on the field as they dropped the crucial catch of Uthappa and also missed run-out on several occasions. Uthappa, however, went back to pavilion following a brilliant throw by Karun Nair.

Manish Pandey could not last long this time as he got out after scoring 5 runs off 4 balls. Sheldon Jackson remained unbeaten at 12 off 5 deliveries with 2 boundaries. Gautam Gambhir was also named man of the match for his match-winning inning.

Kagiso Rabada was the only successful bowler for Daredevils as he bagged the wickets of Narine and Pandey giving away only 20 runs in his 3.2 overs. Chris Morris was really expensive in his 3 overs as he conceded 39 runs. Amit Mishra was also very costly, giving away 36 runs in his 3 overs.

Also Read: IPL 10 KKR vs DD: Daredevils restricted to 160/6 despite Samson’s heroics

Earlier batting first, Delhi Daredevils go off to a fine start following a brilliant effort by opener Sanju Samson, who scored 60 runs off 38 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Shreyas Iyer scored a solid 47 off 34 balls with 4 fours and a six, but missed out a deserving half-century.

Karun Nair, who opened the inning this time, was first to depart at the individual score of 15 runs off 17 balls. Rishabh Pant (6), Chris Morris (11) and Corey Anderson (2) failed to spell any magic this time.

Nathan Coulter-Nile was the pick of the bowlers for KKR as he bagged 3 wickets for 34 runs in his 4 overs. Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine had also plucked one wicket each.

For Kolkata Knight Riders, this was the seventh victory out of nine matches played so far while Delhi Daredevils suffered their fifth defeat out of seven matches this season. KKR is leading the IPL 2017 points table while DD is right at the bottom.