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Pandey blasts Kolkata to dramatic victory

Manish Pandey in action for India

Manish Pandey's outstanding unbeaten 69 proved a match-winning knock as Kolkata Knight Riders secured a four-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils with just one ball to spare.

A composed display from Pandey - who remains this year's leading run-scorer with 221 - helped keep Kolkata's chase of 169 alive, and he produced a brilliant maximum in the final over before clinching a fourth win of the campaign for his team.

Pandey formed a formidable fourth-wicket partnership with Yusuf Pathan (59) that was worth 110 runs, while Nathan Coulter-Nile returned figures of 3-22 from four overs in place of Trent Boult.

Things did not start too well for Coulter-Nile as Sanju Samson (39) sent him to the boundary off successive deliveries, but the Australian broke his 53-run stand with Sam Billings when he tempted the latter into a slight edge back to wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa.

The run-rate dropped for Delhi until an excellent cameo from Rishabh Pant (38 off 16) saw him blast three maximums as part of 26 runs from one Umesh Yadav (1-53) over, a woeful performance including his most expensive set of six in the IPL.

Coulter-Nile stopped Pant doing further damage, but Chris Morris and Pat Cummins escaped his grasp – the former dropped twice – as Delhi posted a total of 168-7.

Kolkata found themselves struggling at 21-3 after just three overs, though. Zaheer Khan (2-28) accounting for Colin de Grandhomme (1) and Gautam Gambhir (14) either side of a sensational catch from wicketkeeper Pant, enhancing his burgeoning reputation by diving to his right to take in Uthappa (4).

But Pandey and Pathan got the Knight Riders back on track, the latter punishing a poor yorker from Zaheer to bring up his fifty before Morris' short ball got the better of him.

Pandey was denied a third maximum when Samson leapt across the tope and flicked the ball back into the field mid-air in the penultimate over, but Cummins was unable to match his team-mates heroics at the long-on boundary with three balls remaining.

A smart double off the penultimate delivery completed the victory, with Pandey's IPL tally having surpassed the 2000-run mark.

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