Man-of-the-match Chris Gayle hit a swashbuckling 44 not out to take Kolkata to 79-1 before rain stopped play in the ninth over.
The West Indies skipper smacked two fours and six sixes, although he had an early reprieve when he was dropped by Vikram Singh in the second over.
Gayle and Brendon McCullum (21 off 16 balls) shared a first wicket stand of 57, with McCullum hitting a four and two sixes before edging a Vikramjeet Malik delivery to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara in the fifth over.
"It's very unfortunate and disappointing to lose in this fashion," said Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh. "Duckworth Lewis, a dropped catch, just not our day."
Punjab has lost its first two games and lies second from bottom of the IPL table.
"Its nice to get a result at last," Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum said. "I hope we take off from there and start to pick up points."
Singh, Irfan Pathan and Mahela Jayawardene had earlier helped steer Punjab to 158-6.
Singh scored 38 off 27 balls, hitting five fours and a six. Together with Kumar Sangakkara (26 off 24 balls), he guided Punjab from 3-48 to 4-104. Pathan then struck 32 off 17 balls and Jayawardene an unbeaten 31, hitting three fours and a six, to add a final flourish to the innings.
Sourav Ganguly was the pick of the Kolkata bowlers, taking two early wickets to put the breaks on the Punjab innings. The former India captain had Pathan caught at mid-off by Murali Kartik and then next ball Ravi Bopara (15) nicked a slower delivery to wicketkeeper McCullum.
Aashok Dinda and Ishant Sharma took one wicket apiece.
The match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to persistent rain at Kingsmead. Both teams get one point.
(Source: www.telegraph.co.uk)
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