Pathan, Kallis Lead Kolkata in Easy Win

Chasing 133-run target, Yusuf Pathan (49*) and Jacques Kallis (33*) batted well as Kolkata defeated Rajasthan by 8 wickets with 2.4 overs to spare against Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
Yusuf Pathan remains stranded on 49, Kallis hits winning boundary. KKR have won their fourth this season and have barely kept themselves alive, while Rajasthan now continue to have 12 points from their 10 games.
Knight Riders lost Manvinder Bisla (29) and skipper Gautam Gambhir (12) in quick succession after a solid start against Royals.
The openers added 41 runs before Shane Watson dismissed Gambhir in the sixth over to give Royals a crucial breakthrough and reduce Kolkata to 41/1 in 5.3 overs.
Bisla followed his skipper soon in the eighth over by giving a simple catch to Ajinkya Rahane off Ankit Chavan. Bisla hit a six and four boundaries in his 25-ball innings.
Asked to field, discipline Knight Riders bowlers took wickets at regular intervals to restrict Rajasthan to 132 for 6.
Royals batsmen failed to put on any substantial partnerships during their innings after losing two early wickets and set a modest 133-run target.
Sachithra Senanayake was the pick of Kolkata bowlers, taking two Royals wickets for 26 runs in his four overs. Rajat Bhatia (1-21), Sunil Narine (1-20), Iqbal Abdulla (1-22) and Jacques Kallis (1-25) also picked up a wicket apiece.
Young Sanju Samson was the top-scorer for the visitors with 36-ball 40 as he hit two maximums and a four in his innings. Shane Watson (35) and Owais Shah (24) also contributed handsomely in their team's effort.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and decided to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the defending champions' last league fixture at the Eden.
Rajasthan have made three changes in their team from the last game citing the slow and low wicket at the Eden. Brad Hogg replaced Brad Hodge, Ankit Chavan came in for Ajit Chandila and Dishant Yagnik included in Sreesanth's place.
Hosts KKR have included Sachithra Senanayake and left out Brett Lee for this game, whereas, spinner Iqbal Abdulla replaced pacer L Balaji.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), Manvinder Bisla (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Debabrata Das, Rajat Bhatia, Sumit Narwal, Sunil Narine, Iqbal Abdulla, Sachithra Senanayake.

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (Capt.), Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Owais Shah, James Faulkner, Siddharth Trivedi, Brad Hogg, Ankit Chavan, Dishant Yagnik (wk). 

Brief scores
Rajasthan Royals 132/6 (Samson 40, Watson 35, Senanayake 2-26)
Kolkata Knight Riders 133/2 (Pathan 49*, Kallis 33*)
Result Kolkata Knight Riders won by 8 wickets 
Points Kolkata Knight Riders 2, Rajasthan Royals 0
MOM Yusuf Pathan (Kolkata Knight Riders)

IPL Score : Bisla, Morgan Help Gosts Coast KKR

Manvinder Bisla was unbeaten on a well compiled 51 and coupled with a cameo from Eoin Morgan took Kolkata to a comfortable 6 wicket victory over Punjab.
Azhar Mahmood jolted Kolkata at the start when he sent back Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan cheaply. However, Jacques Kallis and Manvinder Bisla strung together a partnership that slowly got Kolkata back on track. 
Harmeet Singh sent back Kallis but Morgan finished off the contest with some lusty blows. Bisla came back to form and notched up his third fifty in the Indian T20 League as Kolkata snapped their three match losing strea at home.
Kallis and Manvinder Bisla consolidated Kolkata innings and guided the side past 50 in 6.2 overs.
Azhar Mahmood gave Punjab a dream start by dismissing Kolkata openers Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan in consecutive deliveries of the second over after visitors posted 149/6.
While Gambhir (8) was bowled out, Pathan (0) was caught behind by Gilchrist.
A solid opening wicket stand and decent contribution from the middle order helped Kings XI Punjab set a challenging 150 for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Manan Vohra (31, 21 balls) top scored for the Kings, as almost everybody in the line-up -- Adam Gilchrist (27), Mandeep Singh (25), David Hussey (21) made small contributions.
However, it was Gurkeerat Singh's 15-ball unbeaten 28 studded with two boundaries and an equal number of sixes that took them to a fighting total.
On a day, when the Knight Riders spin ploy did not work, Jacques Kallis (4-0-14-2) with two crucial wickets of Mandeep and Hussey ensured that the home side had their moments and did not let the Kings off the hook.
It was one of the rare day when Purple Cap holder Sunil Narine went wicketless (4-0-22-0), while Sachithra Senanayake and leg-spinner Sarabjit Ladda conceded 47 runs from six overs together.
Balaji (one for 44) conceded 18 runs in the last over with two sixes and one four, bearing the brunt of Gurkeerat Singh (28 not out from 15 balls; 2x4, 2x6) that took Kings to a competitive total.
Put in to bat, Kings XI made a slow but sensible start as Gilchrist took time to settle down while talented Mandeep scored briskly with some elegant shots.
Lucky to survive a runout at the non-striking end, Gilchrist played Senanayake watchfully as the KKR off-spinner began with a maiden.
Mandeep however played freely hitting Balaji for two boundaries before charging out to Narine for the same effect to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Gilchrist soon got into the act when he took on Senanayake resulting in 12 runs as they were 45 for no loss at the end of Powerplay.
It was then smart captaincy from Gambhir, who brought in Kallis immediately after six overs, which helped in breaking the partnership.
Kallis, who had an injury scare in the previous match after twisting his knee, struck in his very first ball dismissing the inform Mandeep.
Just when a set-looking Gilchrist looked to break free by hitting Bhatia over midwicket, the Knight Riders had another breakthrough.
In what turned out to be a soft dismissal, Gilchrist who in his prime time would have cleared the park with his pull found Morgan's safe hands to continue his miserable outing.
But to the Kings' delight, there was no panic in the middle. Vohra played a fine cameo with one six and three fours before being dismissed by Balaji as the Kings XI maintained a seven-plus scoring rate.
Earlier, Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to bat.
Kolkata have brought in a leg-spinner in place of Iqbal Abdulla. Azhar Mahmood staged a come back in Punjab squad in place of Pomersbach, while Gurkeerat Singh replaced Parvinder Awana.

Teams

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, MS Bisla, Eoin Morgan, DB Das (wk), Rajat Bhatia, SMSM Senanayake, Sunil Narine, S Ladda, L Balaji

Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (captain & wk), Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, David Hussey, Azhar Mahmood, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Harmeet Singh, Bhargav Bhatt

Brief scores
Kings XI Punjab 149/6 (Vohra 31)
Kolkata Knight Riders 150/4 (Bisla 51*, Morgan 42, Kallis 37, Mahmood 3-35)
Result Kolkata Knight Riders won by 6 wickets
Points Kolkata Knight Riders 2, Kings XI Punjab 0
MOM Jacques Kallis (Kolkata Knight Riders)