Images: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab

After Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat, the openers gave them a solid start.

Facing Irfan Pathan upfront, Ganguly made his intentions clear as he hit the pacer for two boundaries in the opening over.

Gayle followed it up with a couple of boundaries at the other end off Shalabh Srivastava.

Ganguly then picked up young Srivastava for a huge six and a boundary in the same over as the Knight Riders produced one of their best start in the tournament.

The duo brought up the half century stand in the sixth over.

Photographs: IPL/Getty Images

With the Knight Riders going great guns, Kings XI Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara brought back off-spinner Ramesh Powar.

Powar, who had opened the innings along with Pathan, bowled a tight line and length and kept both Ganguly and Gayle under control.

Sangakkara brought Ravi Bopara from the other end in the eight over and it clicked immediately.

Bopara had Ganguly caught and bowled for a breezy 36 off 31 balls.

After Ganguly's wicket, Gayle took over and showed what he is capable of.

Gayle, slow to start with, opened his shoulders in the tenth over, when he hit Powar for a maximum and followed it up by hitting leg-spinner Piyush Chawla for back-to-back boundaries.

But he was at his devastating best in the next over where he hit four consecutive sixes off Bopara, in the process bringing up his half-century. The Bopara over produced 33 runs, the highest conceded by any bowler in the IPL.

He then hit Chawla for another couple of sixes as the southpaw looked to take the game away from the visitors. He, however, holed out in the deep and was caught by Bopara off Rusty Theron after a splendid innings of 88 from 42 balls.

Manoj Tiwary continued his good form in the tournament and made useful contribution at the other end. Initially just watching the ball disappear off Gayle's bat, Tiwary turned on the heat, once he left.

He kept the run flow going before he was brilliantly caught on the boundary by Mohammad Kaif after scoring 35 off 32 balls.

The Knight Riders posted an impressive 200 for three in their stipulated 20 overs.

Kings XI, who had just won one match in the tournament so far, started the run chase in an impressive manner.

Mahela Jayawardena, who replaced Shaun Marsh, just minutes before the match opened the innings with Manvinder Bisla.

Jayawardena opened the proceedings for the Kings XI, with a boundary off Shane Bond.

The Sri Lankan batsman then took on young oacer Jaidev Unadkat, hitting him for a couple of boundaries in the next over.

Bond was hit for a boundary each by Jayawardene and Bisla, as Punjab looked to maintain a good run rate at the start.

Jayawardene then flicked the young pacer through midwicket for the first six of the innings and Bisla followed it up with a boundary as Punjab raced to 44 after four overs.

The duo soon made full use of some poor bowling and fielding lapses as they reached fifty in the fifth over.

Bisla then took the attack to Murali Kartik as he charged down the wicket and lifted him straight for a boundary. But Kartik had the last laugh when he bowled Bisla with an arm delivery that crashed through his defences. He was dismissed for 18 from 13 balls.

Jayawardena at the other end continued to collect runs as he picked up 17 runs off Chirs Gayle, which included two boundaries and a huge six.

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who has been under fire due to non-performance, came up with the goods, when it mattered.

Sangakkara got his first boundary when he charged down the wicket and hit compatriot Angelo Mathews straight for a six, in the eighth over. In the same over, Jayawardene raced to his half-century off just 26 balls, having hit six boundaries and two sixes.

Sangakkara took a liking to Mathews and went after him again in his next over, hitting another six straight over the bowler's head.

Mathews was unlucky not to have picked up the wicket of Jayawardene (51) as Kartik dropped a simple catch at short thirdman.

With both going great guns, Ganguly brought back his strike bowler Bond back in the attack and he provided the breakthrough immediately. The Punjab captain was foxed by the slower delivery and ended up chipping it straight to Hussey at long-on for a well made 38 off 22 balls.

Jayawardene, who had been asked to open the innings for the first time in IPL, made full use of the chance given to him.

Jayawardene brought up a deserved century with a double through the off-side in the 18th over bowled by Bond.

The former Sri Lanka captain took just 55 balls to reach the landmark, having hit 12 boundaries and three sixes, and took his team closer to victory.

Fittingly, he finished the contest with back-to-back boundaries off Unadkat as Punjab amassed 204 for two in 18.2 overs to win by eight wickets and ten deliveries to spare.

Jayawardene was unbeaten on a splendid innings of 110 from 59 balls, having hit 14 boundaries and three sixes, while Yuvraj was not out after a quick 33 from 16 balls, inclusive of two fours and three sixes.