CUTTACK — Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an Indian Premier League match here Wednesday. Opting to bowl, Kolkata restricted Mumbai to 141 for five, and then chased down the target with eight balls to spare. Robin Uthappa showed pure class as he struck nine boundaries and three sixes in his innings of 80 off 52 deliveries as Kolkata ended on 142 for four. Yusuf Pathan, playing in his 100th match, struck three boundaries and hit the winning runs, in his unbeaten innings of 20 off 13 balls. Earlier, Rohit Sharma scored a valiant half century as the visitors struggled to get the ball off the pitch. Sharma faced 45 balls for his 51. Mumbai now trails Kolkata by four points with just four matches remaining in the group stage of the competition. Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 142 for 4 (Uthappa 80) beat Mumbai Indians 141 for 5 (Rohit 51) by six wickets Punjab downs Hyderabad Kings-XI Punjab once again showed its batting might as the table-topper chased down another 200-plus run target to comfortably beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in an IPL match in Hyderabad Wednesday. Chasing 206 for victory, the Punjab top-order pulled off another run feast — its second 200-pus run chase in this IPL — to canter to its target in 18.4 overs. Punjab batsmen struck from the word go, even after losing Virender Sehwag (4) on the second ball of the innings. Wriddhiman Saha (54 off 26 balls) and Manan Vohra (47) managed a 91-run second-wicket partnership to provide a solid platform for the big chase. Saha led the assault with the duo getting 20 runs from the sixth over and taking their side to 86 after the powerplays. Saha though ran out of steam when Karn Sharma got him stumped but the leg-spinner's joy was short-lived as Glenn Maxwell came to the crease. The current orange-cap holder belted Karn for three sixes to continue with the momentum. Vohra was unlucky to be run out while backing off at the non-striker's end, but Maxwell got a lucky reprieve when he survived a catch with Amit Mishra bowling a no ball. Maxwell could score only 43 off 22 balls this time around. Punjab won the game with eight balls to spare with George Bailey fittingly hitting the winning six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bailey (35 not out) and Miller 24 (not out) managed an unbeaten 52-run stand to disappoint the home crowd. Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 206 for 4 (Saha 54, Vohra 47) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 205 for 5 (Ojha 79, Dhawan 45) by six wickets. Bangalore alive For the second time in three days, Yuvraj Singh announced his return to form, this time with a six-laden unbeaten 68 off 29 balls, but unlike two days ago, Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to hold its composure Tuesday. It sneaked to a 16-run win against the bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils and kept its chances alive in the tournament. The relief was writ large over their faces when Daredevils finally fell short after threatening the target, at least till the 18th over when JP Duminy was around. However, Yuvraj's late assault this time did not go in vain. Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 186 for 4 (Yuvraj 68*) beat Delhi Daredevils 170 for 7 (Duminy 48, Jadhav 37, Muralitharan 2-25) by 16 runs. — Agencies
