Mohali: The opening partnership of Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir has done it again. Like in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad the other day, the Kolkata Knight Riders openers struck form to plot the team’s victory against Kings XI Punjab at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium on Tuesday night.

Unlike in the match against Hyderabad, Uthappa was the dominating partner with a score of 53 off only 28 balls and walked away with the Man of the Match award. The duo put on 82 runs off 53 deliveries. He hit nine fours before being trapped leg before by Pradeep Sahu in the third ball of the ninth over.

Uthappa, however, made it clear that it would not have been possible to win the match without their solid opening partnership. “We understand each other….we complement each other. That’s the way our partnership grows,” said the Karnataka-born cricketer after KKR’s six-wicket victory.

Uthappa said the batting chemistry between him and Gambhir was “fantastic.”

“We bat in perfect understanding with each other, we take risk for each other. That’s the way we have made it into a good opening partnership. That’s the key... We know that if we can add 50 or 60 runs for the first wicket, then it would go a long way in winning the match for the team in T20 cricket,” said Uthappa.

Batting in the second innings of the match, Uthappa said, was comparatively easier than when the match started. “The second innings was slightly better for batting. I was playing good strokes and I thought let me go for the shots. I wanted to keep the momentum. It happened in that way and turned out to be a good innings,” Uthappa said.

Given what Uthappa had to say, it was indeed a good toss to win for KKR captain Gambhir. He promptly invited the home side to bat first, who could manage only 138 for eight in the allotted 20 overs with spinners Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla giving a tough time to the batsmen.

Uthappa said his team played to a plan when they came out to bat. “It was a wicket where the ball was taking time to come on to the bat. We knew what their pace bowlers were going to do. So, we waited and then played accordingly. It helped us to get the upper hand,” he said.

Uthappa, who also keeps the wicket, caught his KXIP counterpart Wriddhiman Saha off Sunil Narine. The television replays indicated Saha did not touch the ball. Uthappa, however, said he was not aware of the development.

“I really can’t look at things from that angle. The ball came to me, I caught it and then appealed. We received a favourable decision and that’s all,” said Uthappa.