Smith upstaged as Kolkata sweep Pune aside

Steve Smith was 51 not out after 20 overs for Pune but it wasn't enough as the Knight Riders cruised to a seven-wicket win and the top of the IPL table.

An unbeaten half-century to Australia skipper Steve Smith wasn't enough to stop Kolkata Knight Riders joining Mumbai at the top of the Indian Premier League standings.

Robin Uthappa struck an inspired 87 and captain Gautam Gambhir added 62 as two-time champions Kolkata swept to a seven-wicket victory over Smith's Rising Pune Supergiants.

An unbeaten 51 by Smith helped Supergiant reach a solid total of 5-182, only for Uthappa and Gambhir to guide Knight Riders to 3-184 and a win that took them to the top of the table.

Uthappa hammered seven boundaries and six sixes in his 47-ball knock, which followed an impressive display behind the stumps by the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Smith's knock, which included four boundaries and a six from 37 balls, was his team's standout performance after opener Ajinkya Rahane had made a bright start with 46 from 41 deliveries before being stumped by Uthappa.

Fellow Australian Dan Christian smacked two consecutive sixes off Chris Woakes at the end of an 19th over that yielded 18 runs, with 12 more being plundered off the final over. The last ball of the innings saw Christian's attempted big hit providing a simple catch at deep mid-wicket for Manish Pandey off a full toss from Umesh Yadav.

In reply, Knight Riders lost Narine (16) to a runout that left his team on 20-1, but any nerves were very soon steadied.

Uthappa slashed a four and two sixes from Washington Sundar's first three balls of the eighth over, along with two consecutive sixes off Imran Tahir in the 16th.

He was dismissed in the following over, just five runs short of the victory target.

Looking for a six to finish the game in style, his effort came up short and provided an easy catch for Tripathi off a Jaydev Unadkat delivery. Gambhir was out the next over, an easy catch for Shardul Thakur after an awkward shot off the bowling of Christian.

Darren Bravo and Pandey finished off the Knight Riders innings, with the West Indies batsman drilling a four through the covers to wrap up the win.


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Source: AAP



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