Gambhir leads Kolkata to win

On a square turner, Kolkata Knight Riders out-spun Kings XI Punjab to move to become joint leaders on the point table, although the other team, Mumbai Indians, have a game in hand. At the heart of Kolkata's effort - aside from the spinners, Iqbal Abdulla and Yusuf Pathan - was their captain Gautam Gambhir. He attacked right through the Punjab innings, and then with the bat made sure there were no hiccups during the chase.

It took Gambhir just the three overs to realise that there was no point offering the batsmen pace on this track. At 22 for 0 after three overs, Abdulla immediately started turning the ball at right angles. Four quick wickets were picked up, including two run-outs, and at 53 for 4 in the 10th over, Gambhir's captaincy shone through. He was not content with the early wickets. Almost every new batsman walked out to a slip and a silly point. Gambhir himself stayed under the helmet.

While the wickets didn't come, they always lurked around the corner. The cautious batsmen couldn't do much about the poor run-rate. It was a chase that could have easily gone wrong on a difficult track. Al least it threatened to when Jacques Kallis got out to the first ball of left-arm spin of Bhargav Bhatt, who opened the bowling. Eoin Morgan first provided the counter punch with good batting against spin, but at 35 for 2 business was far from over.

Gambhir negated the spinners expertly, showing off his version of quick footwork. Perhaps because he is the captain, he was less flashy than Morgan. He relied on pressing forward, then waiting for the bowler to bowl short for a nudge into the leg side. If the bowler didn't pitch short, like Piyush Chawla tried, he chipped him well over the infield. Along with Manoj Tiwary, he took the side home with a 85-run partnership.