Martin Lukeman believes he is “85, 80 per cent there" after overcoming a scare to make it safely through to the second round at the World Darts Championships at Alexandra Palace.

The Watford star beat Nitin Kumar 3-1 this afternoon to set up a second round clash with Andrew Gilding on Monday as he bids to continue his involvement in the sport’s showpiece event beyond Christmas for the first time.

The 39-year-old, who reached his first major final at the Grand Slam of Darts in November, admitted after his victory that he had not been feeling well in the build-up to the event, but now intends to get some good quality practice in ahead of facing the 21st seed.

“I’m through, that’s the main objective,” he said afterwards. "I just need to get through Gilding on the 23rd.

“I haven’t been feeling very well in the last week, but I got the job done today and I can get some practice in now.

“I’m probably 85, 80 per cent there, get some practice in and get ready for Gilding.”

Lukeman had been expected to progress through without too many problems against the Indian qualifier. However, he was given plenty to think about when Kumar took the first set 3-2.

Following that edgy start, Lukeman began to find his range on the doubles and levelled the match by winning the next set 3-1.

It was a scoreline he was to repeat in the next two sets to secure his victory which he celebrated by wiping his hand against his brow before shaking hands and embracing his opponent.

With an average of 86.66 per cent and a doubles success rate of just 28 per cent, Lukeman knows he will need to be play better if he is to make it into the third round for the first time.