Kolkata Knight Riders kept up their push for an Indian Premier League top spot with a seven-wicket win over Pune Warriors in Mumbai.

Playing their penultimate group game, the Knight Riders knocked off the required total of 119 in 16.4 overs. Skipper Gautam Gambhir led them home with 54 off 46 balls, with Manoj Tiwary adding 24 and Yusuf Pathan 29.

Kolkata had earlier spun the ball to maximum effect to restrict Pune to 118 for seven from their 20 overs. Pathan, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Lakshmipathy Balaji took two wickets apiece.

England batsman Eoin Morgan was on the bench for Kolkata, who won the toss and assumed control early on as Pathan and Iqbal Abdulla dismissed openers Jesse Ryder (one) and Manish Pandey (16) respectively.

Spin continued to torment Pune, as Shakib removed Callum Ferguson (16) and Sourav Ganguly (18) around the halfway mark.

Pune were reeling at 79 for five when Pathan got his second, Robin Uthappa caught by Brett Lee for 12.

Yuvraj Singh (24) helped mount a late recovery - in a 34-run stand with Sachin Rana (18) - before he was caught behind by Shreevats Goswami off Balaji.

The Warriors then attempted a fightback with the ball, Alfonso Thomas dismissing Goswami (six) in the first over, but fellow opener Gambhir put paid to Pune’s hopes.

Tiwary shared a 46-run second-wicket stand with Gambhir before unluckily playing onto his leg stump off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but Pathan was on hand to steer Kolkata closer to victory with his usual slogging style.

Gambhir ambled away to a half-century in 43 balls - finishing with seven boundaries to his name - and oversaw a comfortable victory despite Pathan’s late dismissal to Wayne Parnell.