Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Deccan Chargers by nine runs in an Indian Premier League match in Eden Gardens on Monday.
Chasing Knight Riders 163 for four, Deccan lost wickets at heap in the beginning and towards the fag end of their innings to eventually fell short by just nine runs.
Jacques Kallis produced a fluent half-century to set the platform for middle-order to take charge and help Kolkata Knight Riders post a challenging 163 for four.
Opting to bat, Kallis (53 off 45) and Manvinder Bisla (19) gave a solid start to the Knight Riders innings with a 51-run opening partnership.
Kallis was at his destructive best as he hit seven fours and a lone six to notch up his second fifty in as many matches
in the tournament.
After Kallis' show, Manoj Tiwary played a special unbeaten knock of 30 from 21 balls during which struck two boundaries and as many sixes.
Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir (29 off 18) also played a good hand while Yusuf Pathan produced a nice 15-ball
22-run cameo towards the end to provide the late surge for the hosts, who piled up 45 runs in the last five overs.
For Deccan leg-spinner Amit Mishra impressed with figures of four for 19, including the prized scalp of Gambhir.
Playing their first home match without former India captain and local hero Sourav Ganguly, the Knight Riders started the proceedings in an attacking manner in front of a half-filled Eden Gardens.
Kallis clobbered his South African teammate Dale Steyn for two fours in the very first over of the innings.
To add to Deccan's misery, Bisla was dropped on five by Ishant Sharma at third man from Steyn's bowling. While bowling Ishant was expensive today, giving away 27 runs from his spell of three overs as Knight Riders raced to 34 for no loss in five overs.
Introduction of spin from the sixth over brought down the run rate as Mishra was successful in breaking the opening
partnership, trapping Bisla for 19.
Mishra gave away three runs from his first over, while Pragyan Ojha too was tidy as the duo managed to stem the
Knight Riders run flow. But poor fielding did not help Deccan's cause as an attacking Kallis ensured that the Knight Riders remained on course for a challenging total.
Sangakkara brought on JP Duminy in the 13th over that yielded the surprise wicket of Kallis. In no mood to relent against his South African teammate, Kallis pulled one over midwicket for a six but only to be holed out to Shikhar Dhawan in the next ball.
Coming at number three, Gambhir was watchful to start with but later in Tiwary's company the duo played attacking
shots to up the run rate.
Aided by some sloppy fielding, the duo scored in excess of 10 an over as they raced to 118 for two in 15 overs.
Looking to play inside out, Gambhir was bowled by Mishra to put brakes on the 43-run third-wicket partnership that came
off just 26 balls.
Pathan then joined Tiwary and took Steyn's for a ride, hitting the pacer for three boundaries before getting out in the last ball of the innings.
