Pune: Spilled catches and two rampant batting displays saw hosts Rising Pune Supergiant slump to an embarrassing seven-wicket defeat at the hands of two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL-10 here on Wednesday.
Dropped on 12 by Jaidev Unadkat, Robin Uthappa came alive to tear into Pune’s bowling, finishing with a 47-ball 87 (7x4, 6x6). Along with skipper Gautam Gambhir (62, 46b, 6x4, 1x6), he put on 158 runs for the second wicket in just 14.1 overs as KKR climbed to the top of the standings on 12 points alongside Mumbai Indians, but with a healthier net run rate.
Towards the end of the Robin and Gauti show, there was almost a sense of resignation in the Pune attack as the two KKR stalwarts blazed away. Two late wickets slowed the KKR charge somewhat, but by then, only the formalities needed to be completed.
Darren Bravo, making his IPL debut knocked off the winning runs, KKR easing home with 11 balls in hand.
Earlier, skipper Steve Smith led from the front with an unbeaten 51 to lift Rising Pune Supergiant to a 182/5. Smith’s half-century came off 37 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six.
Besides Smith, Ajinkya Rahane (46, 41b), Rahul Tripathi (38, 23b), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23, 11b) and Daniel Christian (16, 6b) also made useful contributions for the home team.
Left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for KKR with figures of 2/31.
Sent in to bat, Pune made a brisk start, courtesy aggressive opener Tripathi, while Rahane played the second fiddle.
Tripathi dealt mainly in boundaries and struck Sunil Narine (1/34) for three boundaries.
