Chasing a modest 124, the Daredevils cruised to 125 for three in 17.1 overs with David Warner (36) and AB de Villiers (40 not out) shining with the bat to fashion a win that helped the Delhi outfit (14 points) replace Chennai Super Kings (13) at the top of the points table.
Asked to take first strike on the Wanderers pitch, Sourav Ganguly (44) and Ajit Agarkar (39) waged grim battle as the Knight Riders fumbled and faltered their way to an unflattering 123 for eight in their allotted 20 overs.
In contrast, the Daredevils’ chase got off to a flying start with David Warner (36) playing in his usual belligerent way and raising 53 runs with Gautam Gambhir (18) in no time.
The portly Australian looked in ominous form as he hit back-to-back fours off Moises Henriques, smote Agarkat out of the park and treated everyone else with characteristic disdain.
In comparison, Gambhir looked little subdued before he fell to Henriques and 13 runs later, Warner’s blitzkrieg ended when he edged Ishant Sharma.
Three balls later, Ishant removed Tillakaratne Dilshan (1) to jolt the Daredevils but de Villiers and Dinesh Kaarthick (17 not out) played sensibly to ensure the team did not falter further in its pursuit.
Earlier, Ganguly’s 45-ball 44 and Ajit Agarkar’s crucial 39-run cameo off 29 balls saved Knight Riders the blushes as the team huffed and puffed to cross the 100-mark.
The outfit had a disastrous start to their innings, thanks to Ashish Nehra’s double strikes in the first over.
Brendon McCullum (6) fell to Nehra’s third delivery, courtesy umpire Suresh Shastri’s dubious leg-before decision, but there was no such ambiguity three balls later when Brad Hodge (0) perished in the slip. Dirk Nannes too struck in his first over when Morne van Wyk’s (0) pull found Rajat Bhatia at short square leg and the Kolkata outfit realised to their horror that the first nine runs have cost them three top order wickets.
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