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Kolkata Knight Riders delivered a professional performance to beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Jaipur on Wednesday, putting their Indian Premier League campaign back on track with back to back victories.
The highly-rated KKR spinners restricted Royals to 160 for eight before opener Robin Uthappa rallied the visitors after an early wicket, stroking 48 from 36 balls.
KKR were hardly troubled with the bat as captain Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana guided them to an easy victory with seven balls to spare.
Karthik smashed a quickfire 42 not out from 23 balls, while Rana made 35 from 27 balls as the duo put on an unbroken stand of 61 from 38 balls for the fourth wicket.
It was a second emphatic performance in a row for KKR, who now have three wins from five games, while Royals have lost two games out of the four they have played.
The visitors was always in control of the chase despite losing Chris Lynn in the first over. Uthappa was at his attacking best, entertaining the crowd with a blazing knock that comprised six fours and two sixes, to set KKR on the course for the victory.
Earlier Royals, put in to bat, were not able to build on the start provided by captain Ajinkya Rahane (36 off 19) and D'Arcy Short (44 off 43) after the openers shared a 54-run stand off 41 balls.
The trio of Piyush Chawla (1/18), Kuldeep Yadav (1/23) and part-timer Nitish Rana (2/11) conceded 52 runs in 10 overs, sharing four wickets amongst themselves.
KKR's lead-spinner Sunil Narine had an off-day as the West Indian went wicketless and leaked 48 runs in four overs. Pacer Tom Curran (2/19) chipped in with a couple of wickets towards the end.
The highlight of Rahane's knock was hitting Narine for four consecutive boundaries in his opening over.
His innings ended when KKR skipper and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik effected a brilliant stumping after collecting the ball from in front of the stumps.
Rahane's opening partner Short ended up with his highest score in the tournament so far but it was not one of his fluent knocks. The Australian, used to playing on bouncy pitches back home, later said he is still getting used to the low bounce in his maiden IPL stint.
The in-form Sanju Samson (7) getting out cheaply also hurt the home team which could never get a move-on with wickets falling at regular intervals.
KKR began with the spin from both sides and Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav kept things tights, conceding nine runs in the first three overs.
Rahane welcomed Narine in the next over hitting him for four consecutive boundaries as the over went for 18 runs to boost Royals after a slow start.
The following over from pacer Shivam Mavi too produced 13 runs, giving the innings a much-needed impetus.
However, Royals did not get a big enough partnership thereafter as KKR spinners continued to control the innings. An 18-ball 24 from Jos Buttler in the death overs helped Royals get past the 150-run mark.