Uthappa takes KKR to top

Robin Uthappa made a mockery of Rising Pune Supergiant's bowling attack to anchor Kolkata Knight Riders closer towards a play-off berth with a convincing seven wicket win in their IPL match yesterday.

The right-hander struck a match-winning 87 off just 47 balls and was ably supported by skipper Gautam Gambhir, who made 62 off 46 deliveries, as two-time champions KRR regained their spot at the top of the standings with six wins from eight games.

While Uthappa decorated his knock with seven boundaries and six hits over the fence, Gambhir innings was laced with six fours and one six.

The duo stitched 158 runs off just 85 balls for the second wicket to help KKR chase down the 183-run target with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, Steven Smith led from the front with an unbeaten 51 to lift Pune to a challenging 182 for five.

SCORES IN BRIEF

PUNE: 182 for 5 (Rahane 46, Smith 51 not out, Tripathi 38; Yadav 2-31)

KOLKATA: 184 for 3 in 18.1 overs (Gambhir 62, Uthappa 87; Unadkat 1-26)

Result: KKR won by 7 wkts.

Player-of-the-match: RV Uthappa.