Bangalore: Gautam Gambhir-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a rain-affected match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday night.
After opting to bowl first, KKR bowlers were right on the money from the word go as David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan failed to get Hyderabad to a decent start. On a slow wicket, SRH struggled to score boundaries and were bowled out for just 128 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing 48 to win in six overs after rain and wet outfield ate up a large chunk of playing time, forcing Duckworth-Lewis method to come into play, Gambhir steadied the ship after KKR were 12/3 at one stage with an unbeaten 19-ball 32.
Gambhir was full of praise for his bowlers, who stuck with their line and length against all batsmen.
"A lot of credit to the bowlers. They set the game up for us," Gambhir said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"The bowlers restricting the Sunrisers batting to 128 was brilliant. There has been times when we've lacked intensity. And every run we stop on the field is one less to score and all 11 players were up for that," he said.
He, however was little disappointed with the batting effort while chasing the paltry revised target.
"We should have been more sensible with the batting, though," Gambhir said.
Chasing a paltry total, KKR were in a spot of bother having lost three wickets for just 12 runs. But Gambhir resurrected the innings and remained unbeaten on 32 runs off 25 balls.
Kolkata will now take on Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 which is scheduled to be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on May 19.
