Gautam Gambhir struck an unbeaten 72 off 49 balls to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to an eight- wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in their first home game of the Indian Premier league here on Thursday.
Gambhir gunned down the opposition attack with a blazing innings, helping his team overcome the 171-run target in 16.3 overs.
The move to send Sunil Narine (37 off 18 balls) at the top of the order alongside Gambhir worked brilliantly as they smashed 76 off 34 balls to set up a comprehensive victory.
Manish Pandey finished the match with a six to remain unbeaten on 25 alongside Gambhir after Robin Uthappa came up with a 26-run cameo.
The win for KKR came after a painful loss against Mumbai Indians and they now have two victories from three games.
It was the first loss of the season for Kings XI Punjab after two emphatic wins.
The game was very much in the bag for KKR with the flying start they got through Narine, who entertained the Eden crowd by slamming three sixes and four boundaries.
It was also a record equalling 33rd IPl fifty for Gambhir who now shares the feat with David Warner.
The result proved that KKR are a tough side to beat at home and with today's win, they completed an 11th successful chase on this ground.
Earlier, India pacer Umesh Yadav made a successful comeback as his four wickets helped Kolkata Knight Riders restrict Kings XI Punjab to 170/9.
Yadav, who missed two matches because of a niggle following a hectic Test series against Australia, struck thrice in his fourth over to cover up for another poor display on the field.
KXIP were 95/2 after 10 overs before Umesh dismissed opposition skipper Glenn Maxwell (25 off 14) for his first wicket.
The visitors once again stepped up the momentum with Wriddhiman Saha (25 off 17) and David Miller (28 off 19) putting up 57 runs in 32 balls to put their team on course for a total close to 200.
KXIP were going comfortably at 145/4 in 17 overs when Umesh made his presence felt with a flurry of wickets to dismiss Miller and Saha, while Axar Patel (0) became his fourth victim.
The visitors were 47 for no loss after four overs and were in no mood to relent when Piyush Chawla broke the opening stand when Vohra was bowled after failing to read one that went straight off the re-laid pitch.
Fire scare at Eden Gardens
A fire broke out in two AC units of the Eden Gardens press box ahead of the IPl T20 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab here on Thursday.
Timely intervention by firefighters, though, brought the situation under control. The incident happened around 7.45pm in the adjoining TV- Radio annexe of the press box as two AC compressor units, placed outside the room, caught fire. But timely action by about 20 firefighters brought the situation under control.