Knight Riders warm up for CLT20 semis with an impressive win
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Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders warmed up for their semi-finals in style with a convincing 36 run win over Dolphins in their last group match in Champions League T20 cricket tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here Monday.
A strong batting performance from opening batsman Robin Uthappa (85 not out) and Manish Pandey (76 not out) took Kolkata Knight Riders to a formidable 187 for two in 20 overs.
Knight Riders lost skipper Gautam Gambhir (12) and veteran Jacques Kallis (6) early inside five overs for 34 runs on board. But from there on, Uthappa and Pandey dominated the proceedings with their 153-run unbeaten stand for the third wicket.
Uthappa's 55-ball breezy knock was studded witn 13 fours while Pandey's 47-ball whirlwind innings had five fours and five sixes.
Dolphins got off to a poor start losing four wickets for 57 runs and never recovered from that before managing 151 for eight in 20 overs.
Andile Phehlukwayo was the top scorer with 37 runs while Morne van Wyk made 34.
For Knight Riders, spinner Sunil Narine was the chief wrecker with three for 33 while Yusuf Pathan got two for 25.
Brief scores : Kolkata Knight Riders 187/2 in 20A overs (Uthappa 85 not out, Pandey 76 not out). Dolphins 151/8 in 20 overs (Phehlukwayo 37, Van Wyk 34; Narine 2/33).