EAST LONDON: Bottom-of-the-log Knight Riders stumbled onto the losing path as early as the first over of their match against the Delhi Daredevils at the Wanderers last night, succumbing by seven wickets with 17 balls remaining.

By the end of the first over they were two wickets down, having lost skipper Brendon McCullum (6) and in-form No3 Brad Hodge (0); five balls later Morne van Wyk (0) was out. To say they were over the barrel would be an understatement. They were locked inside the cask and floating towards the proverbial waterfall.

Sourav Ganguly (44 from 45 balls) and Ajit Agarkar (39 from 29) ensured Kolkata saw out their 20 overs, but their total of 123 was insufficient.

AB de Villiers struck 40 from 32 deliveries in tricky conditions to steer the Daredevils to victory. As a result, they leap-frog Chennai Super Kings to the top of the log.

Earlier, in Port Elizabeth, Ajinkya Rahane and JP Duminy scored an unbeaten 104-run partnership to lead Mumbai Indians to a 16-run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers in a clash of table-stragglers.

Mumbai, second from the bottom heading into this showdown, put on 157 for two wickets in their 20 overs, and then restricted the lethargic Challengers to 141/7.

Rahane, a talented 20-year-old who is surely not far from an Indian call-up, top-scored with an unbeaten 62 from 49 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six. Duminy, with 59 from 41, hit two fours and three sixes.

Bangalore are now second from the bottom.