The Kolkata Knight Riders survived a frantic chase that saw them lose five wickets for 45 runs before securing a narrow two-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiants in the 20th match of the VIVO Indian Premier League.

The Supergiants came close, but lost their second home game in a row and are now at the seventh position after their fourth defeat in five games. Led by Gautam Gambhir, The Kolkata Knight Riders’ have secured the top position with four wins from five games owing to a better net run-rate than Gujarat Lions, who are second.

Chasing RPS’ 150/5, the visitors recovered from an early blow when Albie Morkel trapped in-form Robin Uthappa in front on the very first ball. Gambhir, who was looking dangerous having hit two boundaries, was back in the dug-out after being run-out for just 11. Needing a desperate partnership, Suryakumar Yadav bailed the team out with his knock of 60 from 49 balls even as wickets fell from the other end.

Suryakumar was dismissed in the 16th over after he failed to read the googly from Murugan Ashwin. At 119/5, KKR needed 42 from four overs when much drama ensued. Andre Russell hit two sixes, but was caught on the third. With 18 to get from 12, Rajagopal Sathish, who had bowled well, cleared the fence on the first ball, but was cleaned up by Perera when he looked for another big hit. With just seven needed in the final over, Piyush Chawla, too followed his mates in going for the big shot, but like others, lost his wicket.

Throwing caution to win, Umesh Yadav’s mighty hit saw the ball sail over the ropes as the KKR dug-out erupted in joy. For the home team, Rajat Bhatia bowled exceptionally well, taking two wickets from four overs while giving away only 19 runs.
Earlier, the home team got to a challenging total after a late surge in the last five overs that saw them squeeze 60 runs. Dhoni hit two boundaries and in the six in the final over after Morkel had boosted the run-rate with two sixes. The first 15 overs witnessed some sedate action with Ajinkya Rahane anchoring the innings. The Mumbai batsman hit his third half-century of the season in 42 balls. The visitors kept it tight in the Powerplay overs, giving away just 31 runs.
Faf du Plessis was cleaned up by Shakib al Hasan and though RPS got a partnership going with Steven Smith and Rahane, the big hits dried up. The two put on 56 for the second wicket in 50 balls before Smith was run-out. Satish once again came to the party when he castled Perera, who was looking to use the big handle. The three main spinners in KKR’s attack bowled a total of 19 dot balls.

Brief scores:

Rising Pune Supergiants 160/5 in 20 over (Ajinkya Rahane 67, Steve Smith 31, Sunil Narine 1/32)

Kolkata Knight Riders 162/8 in 19.3 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 60, Yusuf Pathan 36, Rajat Bhatia 2/19)

Man of the Match: Suryakumar Yadav for his 60 off 49 balls

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