PTI

NEW DELHI KOLKATA Knight Riders thrashed Delhi Daredevils by six wickets in a lop-sided contest to emerge as the table leader in the Indian Premier League at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium on Monday.

Chasing a modest target of 154, KKR knocked off the runs with eight balls to spare, courtesy Brendon McCullum’s 56 and his 68-run opening stand with skipper Gautam Gambhir (36).

KKR now leads the points table with 17 points and is all but through to the knock-out stage.

The Daredevils lost the match within the Powerplay overs as Gambhir and McCullum started off from where they left against Pune Warriors.

McCullum, who has started to find some form, smashed Irfan Pathan for successive boundaries while Gambhir hit left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem for two fours and a six in the fourth over of the innings that fetched 16 runs.

In the next Umesh Yadav over, the duo got another 13 runs as the 50 came off in only five overs.

After that, the Riders never slackened its grip on the match, storming home in 18.4 overs with six wickets intact.

With Jacques Kallis (30, 27 balls, 3x4) playing the role of a second fiddle to perfection, McCullum raced to 50 with a couple off Morne Morkel off 40 balls.

Umesh Yadav brought some life back to the lop-sided contest with twin blows to remove both Kallis and McCullum (56, 44 balls, 7x4).

Earlier, Delhi Daredevils didn’t fire as a batting unit as Kolkata Knight Riders restricted them to a manageable 153 for nine in their stipulated 20 overs.

Opting to bat first, Daredevils started off well with Sehwag blasting 23 off only nine deliveries but failed to convert his good start.

David Warner (21) and Mahela Jayawardene (30) got out just when they looked set.

It was only due to Irfan Pathan’s (36, 22 balls, 4x4, 1x6) lusty blows that pushed the Daredevils past the 150-mark.

Kallis and Sunil Narine shared four vital wickets.