Earlier, Saha, who is most unlikely to cause consternation in the oppositions minds given the wealth of talent in the Kings XI squad, was on fire with a supremely stroke-filled, unbeaten century to power his team to a formidable total.
Sent into bat by Gautam Gambhir, Kings XI, who were crawling at 58 for two after the 10th over were given a sensational impetus by Sahas calculated and cavalier hitting that silenced the 2012 champions. Saha, who joined the impressive Manan Vohra in the sixth over, first took them to safety before exploding in the final ten overs as Kings XI finished with a huge 199 for four.
The third wicket pair added 129 off just 73 deliveries as Saha (115 n.o., 10x4, 8x6) flayed the bowlers around for his maiden century while Vohra (67, 52b) motored to his first fifty. If the first ten was a slow affair, the rampaging Saha fetched Kings XI 141 from the next 10 with the last five going for 68 after the big disappointment for the Kings XI supporters with Virender Sehwags early dismissal.
Having rocked Mumbai a couple of days ago with a breathtaking century against the Chennai Super Kings, the bespectacled opening batsman couldnt replicate the form, going for a pull off Umesh Yadav only to get a top-edge which Gautam Gambhir safely pouched at mid-off.
Skipper George Bailey, promoting himself to No.3 had no clue as he jumped out too far to the off-side to Narines first ball and was embarrassingly bowled. At 30/2 in the sixth over, Kings XI were in a spot of bother. That was when Saha, not necessarily a No.4 bat and sent ahead of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, grabbed the opportunity.
Kings XI Punjab: V. Sehwag c Gambhir b 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 (for four wickets in 20 overs) 199.
FoW: 1-23, 2-30, 3-159, 4-170.
Bowling: Morkel 4-0-40-0, Yadav 4-0-39-1, Narine 4-0-46-1, Shakib 4-0-26-0, Chawla 4-0-44-2.
Kolkata Knight Riders: R. Uthappa c Patel b Johnson 5, G. Gambhir c Miller b Karanveer Singh 23, M. Pandey c Bailey b Karanveer Singh 94, Y. Pathan c Maxwell b Karanveer Singh 36, Shakib Al Hasan run out (Bailey) 12, R. ten Doeschate c Miller b Karanveer Singh 4, S.Yadav c Vohra b Johnson 5, P. Chawla (not out) 13, S. Narine (not out) 2. Extras (w-6) 6, Total (for 7 wickets in 19.3 overs) 200
FoW: 1-6, 2-59, 3-130, 4-156, 5-168, 6-179, 7-187
Bowling: Johnson 4-0-41-2, Balaji 4-0-41-0, Awana 3.3-0-43-0, Karanveer Singh 4-0-54-4, Patel 4-0-21-0