Kolkata crush Rajasthan by 8 wickets

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KOLKATA, Apr 18 (bdnews24.com): Skipper Gautam Gambhir (35 not out) and Manoj Tiwary (30 not out) led Kolkata Knight Riders to comprehensive 8-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens. After two early blows, Gambhir and Tiwary added unbeaten 54-run match winning partnership as Knight Riders chased down the target with 6.1 overs to spare, reports The Times of India. Tiwary was the aggressor as he hit a six and four boundaries in his 26-ball innings whereas his skipper played run-a-ball knock with three fours. Chasing a modest 82-run target, Knight Riders lost Manvinder Bisla (9) and Jacques Kallis (0) early against Rajasthan Royals. Royals skipper Shane Warne dismissed Bisla to put up a fight as they reduced Knight Riders to 312 in seven overs. Pacer Shaun Tait struck with the second ball of the innings to dismiss Kallis and gave Knight Riders an early breakthrough. Earlier, Knight Riders produced a clinical bowling display to bowl out Rajasthan Royals for a paltry 81 runs, the lowest total of the ongoing Indian Premier League on Sunday. Kolkata were also helped by a spineless batting performance by Rajasthan batsmen, who played some irresponsible shots at a placid Eden pitch to be bundled out in 15.2 overs. Vintage Lakshmipathy Balaji was the star with the ball for Knight Riders with figures of 315. He was brilliantly backed up by Bangladesh captain Shakib-al-Hasan (221) and some tidy work by the fielders. After a shaky start, Ashok Menaria showed some promise with a quick-fire 21 from 17 balls but there was no end to Rajasthan's misery as they lost their last five wickets for just three runs within a space of 13 balls. Put into bat, Rajasthan made their intentions clear promoting in-form Shane Watson (11 off 13) up the order to open the batting with Amit Paunikar, who scored a run-a-ball 15. But Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir justified his decision to bowl first as Balaji and Abdulla made early in-roads, dismissing both the openers within five overs. Just when Watson and Paunikar were beginning to look dangerous with some clean strikes off Shakib, Gambhir's move of bringing in Balaji and Abdulla paid rich dividends. Balaji castled through Watson's defence with a gem of an outswinger and in the next over, left arm spinner Abdulla disturbed Paunikar's timber to reduce Royals to 282. Knight Riders' fielding was equally sharp today as they managed two quick run-outs-Faiz Fazal (3) and Abhishek Raut (11) -- in a space of six balls to see Rajasthan totter at 434 after eight overs. In Knight Riders' second home match even though it was not a packed Eden, yet a turnout of about 50,000 ensured a vibrant atmosphere with principal owner and Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan cheering from the corporate box.