BANGALORE - Kolkata Knight Riders were crowned Indian Premier League champions for a second time in three years after chasing down a target of 200 to beat Kings XI Punjab.
Manish Pandey struck 94 before it was left to Piyush Chawla to see the Knight Riders home, the left-hander slicing a four over backward point to take his team past their opponents' total of 199-4 with three balls to spare.
It all meant Wriddhiman Saha's unbeaten century was in vain for the King's XI, who had also lost to Kolkata in the delayed final qualifier earlier in the week. They must have had high hopes of gaining revenge after posting such an imposing score, Saha and Manan Vohra (67) the star turns after the King's XI had seen their big names fail.
Opener Virender Sehwag made just seven before falling to Umesh Yadav and captain George Bailey managed just a single, his dismissal to spinner Sunil Narine leaving the score at 30-2. However Vohra helped repair the early damage with a half-century that included two sixes and six fours, helping put on a stand worth 129 runs with Saha that was eventually ended by Chawla. The leg-spinner also accounted for Glenn Maxwell, the Australian departing for a first-ball duck having been sat patiently waiting for the chance to bat. Saha, though, ended up on 115 not out from just 55 balls,having hit eight sixes and 10 fours.
His sparkling ton left Kolkata with a lot of work to do to vindicate skipper Gautam Gambhir's decision to bowl first after winning the toss. They lost Robin Uthappa early for five but Gambhir and Pandey kept up with the required rate in a second-wicket alliance worth 53 during the powerplay overs. Yusuf Pathan came in after the departure of his captain, the first of four wickets for leg-spinner Karanveer Singh, and duly belted 36 in a hurry, with his 22-ball knock including four maximums.
Even with Yusuf's departure, as well as that of Shakib Al Hasan, the Knight Riders seemed to be on course, only for them to suffer a late wobble when firstly Ryan ten Doeschate and then Pandey - who faced just 50 deliveries for his runs - fell in the same Karanveer over.
But, just as the King's XI sensed an opening, Chawla pulled the final ball of the penultimate over from Mitchell Johnson for six, leaving the equation at five from the last. After a dot ball Narine got a single to get Chawla on strike and then watched on as his team-mate blazed a boundary to seal the win, immediately sparking wild scenes of celebration as his colleagues rushed onto the field.

PUNJAB:
V Sehwag c Gambhir b U Yadav    7
M Vohra c & b Chawla    67
G Bailey b Narine    1
W Saha not out    115
G Maxwell c Morkel b Chawla    0
D Miller not out    1
EXTRAS: (lb4, w3, nb1)    8
TOTAL: (4 wkts; 20 overs)    199
FOW: 1-23, 2-30, 3-159, 4-170
BOWLING: M Morkel 4-0-40-0, U Yadav 4-0-39-1, S Narine 4-0-46-1, Shakib Al Hasan 4-0-26-0, P Chawla 4-0-44-2
KOLKATA:
R Uthappa c Patel b Johnson    5
G Gambhir c Miller b Karanveer    23
M Pandey c Bailey b Karanveer    94
Y Pathan c Maxwell b Karanveer    36
Shakib Al Hasan run out    12
R ten Doeschate c Miller b Karanveer    4
S Yadav c Vohra b Johnson    5
P Chawla not out    13
S Narine not out    2
EXTRAS: (w6)    6
TOTAL: (7 wkts; 19.3 overs)    200
FOW: 1-6, 2-59, 3-130, 4-156, 5-168, 6-179, 7-187
BOWLING: M Johnson 4-0-41-2, L Balaji 4-0-41-0, P Awana 3.3-0-43-0, Karanveer Singh 4-0-54-4, A Patel 4-0-21-0
TOSS: Kolkata
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: M Pandey
UMPIRES: H Dharmasena (SL), and BOxenford (Aus)
TV UMPIRE: S Ravi
MATCH REFEREE: R Mahanama (SL)