View source for Uthappa Hits 87 As Knight Riders Beat Supergiant In IPL

<br>PUNE, India (AP) - Robin Uthappa struck an inspired 87 and captain Gautam Gambhir added 62 as two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders swept to a seven-wicket victory over Rising Pune Supergiant in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.<br> <br>An unbeaten 51 by Steven Smith helped Supergiant reach a solid total of 182-5, only for Uthappa and Gambhir to guide Knight Riders to 184-3 and  [http://cricketnfootballcenter.website2.me/blog/gautam-gambhir-last-10-test-innings http://cricketnfootballcenter.website2.me/blog/gautam-gambhir-last-10-test-innings] a win that took them to the top of the standings.<br> <br>Uthappa hammered seven boundaries and six sixes in his 47-ball knock, which followed an impressive display behind the stumps by the wicketkeeper-batsman.<br> <br>Smith's unbeaten 51, which included four boundaries and a six from 37 balls, was his team's standout performance after opener Ajinkya Rahane had made a bright start with 46 from 41 deliveries before being stumped by Uthappa.<br> <br>Fellow opener Rahul Tripathi chipped in with a useful innings of 38, which included three fours off Sunil Narine in the sixth over.<br><br>His knock ended with a googly from Piyush Chawla that he clipped onto his stumps.<br> <br>Supergiant tried to step up the run rate in the closing stages, only to lose two wickets in the 18th over - with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23) and Manoj Tiwary (1) both stumped by Uthappa off Kuldeep Yadav deliveries.<br> <br>Daniel Christian smacked two consecutive sixes off Chris Woakes at the end of an 19th over that yielded 18 runs, with 12 more being plundered off the final over.<br><br>The last ball of the innings saw Smith's attempted big hit providing a simple catch at deep mid-wicket for Manish Pandey off a full toss from Umesh Yadav.<br> <br>In reply, Knight Riders lost Narine (16) to a runout that left his team on 20-1, but any nerves were very soon steadied.<br> <br>Uthappa slashed a four and two sixes from Washington Sundar's first three balls of the eighth over, along with two consecutive sixes off Imran Tahir in the 16th.<br> <br>He was dismissed in the following over, just five runs short of the victory target.<br> <br>Looking for a six to finish the game in style, his effort came up short and provided an easy catch for Tripathi off a Jaydev Unadkat delivery.<br><br>Gambhir was out the next over, an easy catch for Shardul Thakur after an awkward shot off the bowling of Christian.<br> <br>Darren Bravo and Pandey finished off the Knight Riders innings, with the West Indies batsman drilling a four through the covers to wrap up the win.<br>