Uthappa powers Knight Riders into playoffs

Robin Uthappa was little more than a spectator for eight overs. Royal Challengers displayed the intent of a side fighting for survival. Three of the Knight Riders top order were in the hut just after the powerplay and Uthappa was 20 off 18.

He finished an unbeaten 83 off 51 to confirm his team's place in the playoffs by extending their unbeaten run to six matches. Royal Challengers' loss meant they were out of the tournament, reports Cricinfo.

They did have the resources to threaten a target of 196. But they persisted with a misfiring Chris Gayle and endured another poor start.

Yogesh Takawale, inducted in the XI to offset Gayle's dot balls, looked scratchy early on and when he was becoming fluent, he perished.

Sunil Narine's script was near flawless against Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh - who made a brief fist of it when he swatted Umesh Yadav for 22 in the 16th over - and AB de Villiers to scupper any chance the visitors had.

The pitch had offered early evidence of stopping on the batsman a couple of times. Uthappa decided nudging around with Muttiah Muralitharan persuading his usual assistance was too risky and enacted a counterattack.

Shakib Al Hasan was a brilliant deputy. Knight Riders were 56 for 3 in the eighth over when he joined Uthappa.

The 121-run partnership took shape with singles and twos before Shakib, batting determinedly deep in his crease, brought out his bottom-handed swipes.

The bowlers obliged by failing in their search for the blockhole and both batsmen began finding the boundaries with ease.

Kolkata Knight Riders 195 for 4 (Uthappa 83*, Shakib 60) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 165 for 5 (Takawale 45, Narine 4-20) by 30 runs.