Robin Uthappa got his seventh successive 40 plus score in the championship as his 40-ball-67 enabled the home team to chase down a tricky target of 156 with ease as it turned out to be a worthwhile wait for the supporters present at the Eden Gardens.
After Uthappa laid the foundation, Shakib Al Hasan gave finishing touches in a 21-ball 46 not out (6x4, 2x6) in an unbeaten 34 run stand with Manish Pandey (18 no) as KKR eased to the win with 12 balls to spare.
Uthappa had his share of luck as he was let off twice -- on six and and 24 -- something that cost dear for the two-time former champions who had piled 154/5 with Suresh Raina hitting a 51-ball 65.
First it was burly Ravichandran Aswhin who put down a sitter at the slip in the very second ball as Dhoni brought on Raina and the result was no different, though a difficult one.
In their last seven outings, Gambhir and Uthappa had two century partnerships and three 50 stands together as the opening stand once again punctured CSK's hopes of a comeback.
The KKR skipper cleverly rotated the strike and played a perfect ally as the duo put on 52 runs in the Powerplay before Ishwar Pandey gave the breakthrough.
