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Ganguly won half-the-battle by calling correctly
Half the battle was won with the toss of the coin.
Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Sourav Ganguly called correctly and elected to bat.
"We put runs on the board and the wicket should do a bit later on," reasoned Ganguly, adding, "It's going to be slow but it is a good wicket."
Ganguly's Deccan Chargers' counterpart, Adam Gilchrist, seemed unperturbed.
"Whatever you got to do you have got to do it well," he said.
But Gilchrist did refrain from mentioning the total they would like to chase.
"I am not sure," he said, adding, "And in this format you cannot predict."
But the eventual result - a win for Kolkata - seemed predictable after the toss itself.
Symonds made a double contribution
Andrew Symonds was the pick of the bowleers for Deccan Chargers.
He finished with figures of two for 26.
The Australian first had Chris Gayle (4) caught by Kemar Roach at long-off.
Cheteshwar Pujara (17) eased the pressure to an extent scoring successive boundaries in the same Symonds' over.
But the batsman soon became the Australian's second victim, caught by Pragyan Ojha at mid-off.
Symonds also contributed with the bat, making a 37-ball 45 in what was eventually a lost cause.
Ganguly impressed with the bat
In their stipulated 20 overs, the home team made 181 for six - a total that was enough to ensure victory.
Ganguly scored his second fifty of the tournament to lead from the front.
His 54-ball 88 comprised of nine hits to the fence and five huge ones over it.
The former Indian captain started convincingly, seemed a tad out of touch in the middle of his stay before ending his knock on an emphatic note, with three huge sixes of Pragyan Ojha.
King Khan was there to cheer KKR
Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, was there to cheer his team.
The Baadshah of Bollywood admitted his team hadn't been up to mark in the opening two editions but urged the supporters to continue supporrting the team
The Khan entourage included actor Arjun Rampal and actresses Juhi Chawla, a co-owner of KKR, and Sushmita Sen.
Hussey played an important cameo
David Hussey used the long handle to a good effect to make the other significant contribution in the Kolkata innings.
The Australian's 27-ball 31 included a boundary and a couple of huge sixes and he was involved in a 78-run fourth wicket partnership with Ganguly - a stand that gave the Kolkata innings the solidity it required.
He batted watchfully and gave maximum strikes to his skipper during that partnership.
Gibbs' effort wasn't enough
Herschelle Gibbs was the most significant contributor in Deccan Chargers' innings.
The South African made a 45-ball 50, his fifty IPL half century and first in this edition, a knock that was inclusive of five hits to the fence and one over it.
Dropped by Angelo Mathews - off his own bowling - when on 35, the South African went on to complete his fifty.
Gibbs added 46 runs with Mohnish Mishra (29 off just 16 balls) for the second wicket and then went on to add 44 with Symonds for the third wicket.
However, his effort went unrewarded.
KKR registered their fourth win
For the team from Kolkata, it was their fourth win in eight matches and kept alive their hopes of reaching the last four.
The result also moved them up to fifth in the table.
It also improved their record against Deccan Chargers to four wins - including both the matches in this edition - against just two losses.