Kolkata Knight Riders storm into IPL 7 playoffs

KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders needed a win to qualify for the playoffs and they achieved that in style, recording their sixth win on the trot by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
The defeat knocked RCB out of IPL 7.
RCB skipper Virat Kohli, by opting to field first after winning the toss, clearly wanted to throw a different challenge to the Knight Riders, who have revelled in chasing targets down targets.
It didn't work as KKR not only posted 195/4, their highest score in IPL 7, but also defended it smartly.
It called for a superlative effort from RCB big-hitters to overhaul the target, but they flattered to deceive.
KKR's mystery spinner Sunil Narine proved to be their nemesis, picking up four wickets, including that of Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers, for just 20 runs.
KKR were, once again, led admirably by Gautam Gambhir. The Windies spinner sealed the match in KKR's favour by dismissing Yuvraj and De Villiers in the 17th over.
Narine, who took his wickets tally to 20 this season, got back the purple cap. Earlier, Robin Uthappa put Gambhir's early dismissal behind him and continued to flaunt his red-hot form.