Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen caught fire in the final overs to guide them to a dominating 48-run victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2013 match at the Eden Gardens.
The home crowd witnessed their side pull off their second consecutive home win, a much-needed one at that, following two straight losses away.
Eoin Morgan, playing a cracking 21-ball 47, and Jacques Kallis (41 and three for 13) were the stars of the show, as KKR pretty much put the game beyond the Sunrisers' reach with their first innings total of 180 for four.
Hyderabad were, expectedly, never really in the game, as Kumar Sangakkara and co. eventually ended up on 132 for seven.
The Sunrisers have stuttered in their chases so far, only just managing to reach 130 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, while they made rough weather of overhauling 114 in the match with the Delhi Daredevils.
Therefore, 180 always seemed a little beyond their batsmen, and it turned out to be the case, despite Parthiv Patel and Cameron White giving the away side a good start.
The two scored 57 from nine overs, to build a solid base, before Patel, Cameron White and Kumar Sangakkara lost their wickets in quick succession.
Patel was the first to go, clean bowled by Kallis. White and Sangakkara succumbed while attempting maximums, with Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary taking brilliant catches in the deep as Sunrisers stuttered at 71 for three.
Sunil Narine got in on the act, sending Ravi Teja back to the pavilion for ten as Sunrisers crumbled under the pressure of the huge total.
Hyderabad now needed 71 runs from the last four overs, with even the powerful Thisara Perera (36 in 25) unable to take the, anywhere near the target.
The KKR bowlers did the needful in the final overs, as the defending champions bounced back from two straight losses.
Earlier, KKR finally got off to a decent start, with Manvinder Bisla providing his first notable contribution in this season's IPL.
Bisla and skipper Gautam Gambhir put together 59 runs for the first wicket, before the former lost his wicket for a well-played 24-ball 28, which included five fours.
Karan Sharma picked up the wicket, inducing a shot to deep midwicket from Bisla, with Hanuma Vihari completing the catch.
Jacques Kallis came to the crease, and acted as the perfect foil to Gambhir as the duo set the game up for a big finish in the final overs.
From 59 for one in 7.4 overs, the awesome twosome took the score to 102 for two in 13.4 overs, as Gambhir lost his wicket, after playing a timely 53 (45b, 6x4, 1x6). The KKR captain was castled by a full-length delivery from Akshath Reddy.
That wicket actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it brought Eoin Morgan into the middle, and the Irishman played a little gem to propel the home side to a huge total.
From ball one, Morgan seemed to pick up the deliveries brilliantly, smashing it all over the park as the packed crowd went wild.
Thisara Perera bore the brunt of the Morgan ire in the 18th over, tonking the Sri Lankan all-rounder for 22 runs in the over, which included three boundaries and a maximum.
Morgan 47 (21b, 5x4, 3x6) unnecessarily ran himself out in the next over from Steyn, but only after hitting the pacy South African for a six, as KKR then took themselves to 180 for four, with Kallis 41 (27b, 6x4) getting himself run out in the final ball of the innings.
