IPL 2017: Twitter Reacts As Kolkata Knight Riders Pummels Rising Pune Supergiant To Go Top Of The Table 1

Rising Pune Supergiant paid a huge price for dropping catches, as Kolkata Knight Riders rode on Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir’s half-centuries to beat Steve Smith’s men by seven wickets to go top of the table.

Both the batsmen rode their luck to share a partnership of 158 runs to put their team on the path to a comfortable victory.

Chasing 182 to register their sixth win of the tournament, the visitors did not enjoy the usual blistering starts that Sunil Narine had been giving them, as the West Indian was run-out in the third over for 16.

Narine’s dismissal did not allow the visitors to get a big score in the powerplay and the hosts had a golden opportunity to put Gautam Gambhir’s men under more pressure but Jayadev Unadkat dropped Uthappa when he was batting on just 12.

The right-handed batsman fully capitalised on the reprieve, completing his fifty off just 26 balls to help his team score 101 in 10 overs.

With the home team in dire need of a wicket, a rare chance came their way in the 11th over only to see Washington Sundar squandering it.

Gambhir, who was batting on 32, top-edged a short ball from Dan Christian but Sundar spilled it at short fine leg. The skipper soon completed his fifty in 35 balls with the help of five fours and a six.

The big partnership came to an end when Uthappa was dismissed by Unadkat for 87 runs. His knock came off just 47 balls with the help of seven fours and six sixes. Gambhir also joined Uthappa soon in the hut after scoring 62 but by that time his team needed only four runs from 14 balls.

The two-time IPL champions eventually reached the target with 11 balls remaining.

Earlier, Steve Smith scored an unbeaten 51 to steer his team to 182 for five in 20 overs. Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi gave the Supergiant a brilliant start by adding 65 runs for the first wicket before the latter was clean bowled by Piyush Chawla for 38.

A 47-run stand between Rahane and Steve Smith further bolstered their innings, as they crossed the 100-run mark inside 13 overs. Rahane returned to the pavilion after scoring 46 before Dhoni scored 23 off just 11 balls to put his team on the path for a good total.

Smith and Dan Christian then collected 30 runs in the final two overs to propel their team to a challenging total.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:

https://twitter.com/GappistanRadio/status/857281637633208321

https://twitter.com/imDhoni_fc/status/857288387614658560

https://twitter.com/Sarcasticdudee/status/857275249691316224

https://twitter.com/Sarcasticdudee/status/857258310654976000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fadmin.sportzwiki.com%2Fcricket%2Fipl-2017-twitter-reacts-steve-smiths-fifty-propels-rps-imposing-total-kkr%2F

 

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