Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs in their Indian Premier League encounter at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the last four stage.
Chasing a formidable 182 to win, the visitors got just 167 for eight in their stipulated 20 overs.
Delhi, sitting pretty at 134 for three in the 15th over, slumped to 152 for eight in the 19th over and allowed the home team to score what can be termed as a come-from-behind win.
The biggest total Delhi has chased down in the tournament was against Mumbai Indians (179 for five) in the inaugural edition.
And in order to win this match they had to surpass that long-standing record.
They failed despite calling the shots for the most of their innings.
It was the Kolkata team's second win over the team from Delhi in six IPL matches - and their first since their first meeting in the inaugural edition.
The result also squared the encounters between the teams at 1-1 following the Daredevils' David Warner-inspired win in the Delhi earlier in the tournament.
The win, their fifth in 10 matches, kept the Knight Riders firmly in contention for a semi-final berth.
As regards Delhi, it was their fourth defeat in 10 matches and kept them in second place on the table even though it was a wake-up call.
Delhi had a disastrous start.
Ashok Dinda, having cramped David Warner (0) for space in the first four balls, cleaned up the latter with the fifth, with one that came back in.
But Virender Sehwag (64) went on the back foot and hit a wondreful upper cut off Ajit Agarkar in the next over, a beautiful shot that cleared the third man boundary.
However, he was fortunate on two occasions in Dinda's second over.
There was a huge appeal for caught behind off the first ball and umpire Rudi Koertzen appeared to be lifting his finger but then stopped much to the disappointment of the Kolkata fans.
Three balls later, Sehwag almost scooped a catch to McCullum at covers. However, despite the New Zealander diving full stetch, the ball dropped short of him.
The batsman celebrated his fortune by whipping the ball through midwicket for a boundary.
And captain Gautam Gambhir (47) cut loose in the fifth over (Angelo Mathews's first), hitting successive boundaries before smashing the final ball over the midwicket boundary for a maximum.
As the field restrictions eased, Delhi had made 44 for one, as opposed to KKR's 50 without loss.
Fortune smiled on Sehwag again after resumption (after the first strategic break) when Iqbal Abdullah dropped him at deep midwicket off Ajantha Mendis.
The batsman expressed his gratitude by smashing Sourav Ganguly over long-off for his second maximum.
Then Gambhir went ballistic with a couple of boundaries each off Abdulla and Dinda before Ganguly ran him out with a direct hit.
The captain's 29-ball knock was inclusive of siix hits to the fence and one over it and he was palpably disappointed.
His opening wicket partnership with Sehwag yielded Delhi a massive 99 runs in only 58 balls.
Paul Collingwood (2) didn't last long, failing to pick up a Mendis googly and hitting straight to Mathews at deep midwicket.
But Sehwag reached his seventh IPL fifty with a boundary off Mathews. Coming off 34 balls, it was his slowest fifty in the tournament.
He smashed Agarkar for two boundaries before dragging the ball onto his stumps.
Sehwag's 40-ball knock was inclusive of six hits to the fence and three over it.
Kedar Jadhav (5) didn't last long, hitting a Mendis delivery straight to Ganguly at short cover.
Abdulla cleaned up Ferveez Maharoof (2) in the next over and Rajat Bhatia (2) was run out in the same over.
Suddenly, it seemed a lost cause for Delhi.
And when Dinda had Dinesh Karthik (20) caught by McCullum at midwicket, it was all over.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders eventually managed to register a formidable total after electing to bat first.
The home team made 181 for three in their stipulated 20 overs. It was their highest ever total against Delhi Daredevils.
The home team, having managed 88 runs (without losing any wicket) off their first 10 overs, lost their way in the middle (losing three wickets), before an unbeaten 70-run partnership for the fourth wicket helped them finish on a good note.
Angelo Mathews, with a 28-ball 46, and Manoj Tiwary (26 off 18 balls) were the key players in that partnership.
Mathews's knock was inclusive of three hits to the fence and two over it.
Sourav Ganguly (56), their captain, ensured Kolkata had a good start by hittting three boundaries in the second over by Daniel Vettori.
The left-hander also helped himself to a boundary each in Maharoof's opening two overs.
Amit Mishra, introduced into the attack in the fifth over, tied down Ganguly's aggression.
But the veteran eased the pressure by smashing a boundary off the first ball of the next over from Pradeep Sangwan.
As the field restrictions eased, the home team had made 50 for no loss.
Chris Gayle (40), who had helped himself to three boundaries but remained in the shadow of his captain in the opening overs, broke free, taking 14 runs in Mishra's second over.
The West Indies skipper cleared the long-on for the innings' first maximum off the second ball and followed it up with successive boundaries, both sweep shots.
Ganguly inched closer to his half century with a massive six off Paul Collingwood in the 10th over.
Gayle smashed Rajat Bhatia over long-on for his second maximum but dragged the very next ball onto his stumps.
The left-hander's innings came off just 21 balls and was inclusive of five boundaries and two sixes.
The opening wicket partnership yielded the team from Kolkata 94 runs (off just 62 balls) - their highest against Delhi Daredevils in the tournament.
However, Ganguly reached his third fifty in this edition, his sixth overall, with a boundary in the same over.
Another single from his blade helped his team reach the 100-run mark - the fastest they had reached the mark in the tournament.
However, Ganguly lost concentration in the next over by Daniel Vettori and saw his stumps getting dismantled.
His 46-ball knock was inclusive of eight hits to the fence besides one over it.
And going into the second strategic time out (after the 12th over), the team from Delhi had come back into the game, reducing the home team to 104 for two.
And after resumption, the hosts suffered their third setback.
Brendon McCullum (6), playing in his first game and having survived a run out attempt in the first ball he faced, wasn't lucky the second time.
There was a lull for about three overs thereafter before Angelo Mathews, dropped by Bhatia two overs earlier, smashed Mishra over long-on for a maximum and followed it up with a boundary off Sangwan.
Manoj Tiwary joined the party by hitting a Sangwan delivery over the long-on boundary for a maximum.
A couple of big overs in the end ensured Kolkata their eventual total.
Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders' captain called correctly and elected to bat first.
"It's going to be a good wicket and will hold up for the 40 overs," said Ganguly.
For his opposite number, it was a first loss of toss.
"It looks a beautiful wicket to bat on but we will try and restrict thenm to 150-160," he said, adding, "Hopefully we end up winning the game."
Teams:
Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Virender Sehwag, David Warner, P Collingwood, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Farveez Maharoof, Amit Mishra, Daniel Vettori, Rajat Bhatia, Pradeep Sangwan.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwary, W Saha, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Ajit Agarkar, Ashoke Dinda, Iqbal Abdullah.
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