Kolkata Knight Riders 162-4 (Yusuf Pathan 40*, Gautam Gambhir 32, Pawan Negi 1-18) beat Delhi Daredevils 144-8 (Mahela Jayawardene 40, Naman Ojha 28, Jacques Kallis 2-24) by 18 runs.

Yusuf Pathan lifted Kolkata Knight Riders to stability with 40 speedy runs at a critical stage as the no.1 team in the IPL 2012, Delhi Daredevils, were kicked out.

Kolkata Knight Riders hammered 162 runs with six wickets in hand at the end of the 20^th over. The batsmen of Delhi Daredevils struggled throughout the innings and were restricted to 144 after losing 8 wickets.

Yusuf Pathan (Kolkata Knight Riders) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his astonishing knock of 40 from 21 balls.

The Indian Premier League 2012 – Qualifier 1, was played on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune.

Earlier, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, Gautam Gambhir, won the toss and opened the batting with Brendon McCullum. They made a solid start, got at least one boundary in each over and scored 36 runs at the end of the fifth over. Gambhir was the most aggressive of the two and gathered 11 runs in three deliveries of the sixth over with one six and a four but was unluckily run out on the fifth ball. He contributed 32 runs off just 16 balls with 2 sixes and 3 fours and the first wicket fell at 48.

Jacques Kallis joined in next with McCullum but they were unable to find a boundary in the next three overs. Kallis hit one four in the 10^th over and got a lucky break when dropped by Irfan Pathan on his own bowling for10 runs. The duo took the score to 87 when Brendon McCullum was caught by David Warner off Pawan Negi for 31 from 36 deliveries with 1 six and 2 fours.

The bowlers of Delhi Daredevils took over and Jacques Kallis became the fourth victim for 30 off 33 balls with three fours as the total reached 106 in 16 overs. Yusuf Pathan and Laxmi Shukla got together and played aggressive knocks in the closing overs of the innings. The 17^th over produced 9 runs with a six from Pathan and they added 11 runs in the next over with a couple of fours. The runs rate was enhanced in the 19^th over as 15 runs were scored with one six and a four from Shukla. The final over was the most productive with the output of 21 runs comprising one six and two fours from Pathan as Shukla hit one four.

Yusuf Pathan remained unbeaten for 40 off 21 balls with 2 huge sixes and 3 fours, Laxmi Shukla secured the other end for 24 off 11 deliveries with 1 six and 3 fours. Kolkata Knight Riders plundered 162 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav and Pawan Negi were the only bowlers who were able to get one wicket each.

Delhi Daredevils had a shocking beginning of their innings when the lost their openers, the hard hitting David Warner and their skipper Virender Sehwag for 24 runs in 2.1 overs. Naman Ojha and the seasoned Mahela Jayawardene, put their heads down and stabilised the innings on a positive note by dispatching 15 runs in the fourth over off Shakib Al Hasan with two fours and a six. Ojha was the most dashing off the two and sent the ball out of the rope regularly and Jayawardene added two fours in the 10^th over.

The third wicket enhanced the total to 83 when Naman Ojha was caught by Gautam Gambhir off Rajat Bhatia for 28 off even balls with 1 six and 4 fours. Venugopal Rao came in the centre next as Jayawardene kept on cruising from the other end. The first was dropped by the wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum off Sunil Narine at 2 runs as the first hundred of the innings was achieved in the 13^th over.

Mahela Jayawardene was the fourth batsman who went back to the pavilion for 40 off 33 balls with 6 fours as the score reached 108 in 14.4 overs. Delhi Daredevils batsmen found it hard to get the runs and especially found it hard to send the ball out of the ropes at will. They required 46 runs from the last 24 balls with six wickets in hand and managed 144 runs with two wickets in hand in 20 overs.

Jacques Kallis and Sunil Narine were the top wicket takers with two wickets each whereas Lakshmipathy Balaji, Shakib Al Hasan, Iqbal Abdullah and Rajat Bhatia claimed one wicket each.

Kolkata Knight Riders won the match in a commanding way by a margin of 18 runs and became the first team to qualify for the final of IPL 2012.