Kolkata : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) continued to make a mess out of its title defence as their batters once again failed to live up to their hype against a consistent Gujarat Titans (GT), who secured a 39-run win over the defending champions at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
After being put to bat first, GT posted 198/3 thanks to superb half-centuries from skipper Shubman Gill (90), Sai Sudharsan (52) and some fiery finishing from Jos Buttler (41*). In reply, KKR could not put up much of a fight, except their skipper Ajinkya Rahane (50), as they were restricted to 159/8 thanks to superb spells by Prasidh Krishna (2/25) and Rashid Khan (2/25).
KKR have slipped to seventh spot with three wins and their fifth loss, while GT maintain their supremacy at top with six wins and two losses, giving them 12 points. During the run chase of 199 runs, KKR was off to a poor start as Rahmanullah Gurbaz was trapped leg-before-wicket for just one run by Mohammed Siraj. KKR was 2/1 in 0.5 overs.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine took the attack during the powerplay, with Rahane being the aggressor. A catch at square leg by Rahul Tewatia earned Rashid Khan the wicket of Narine for 17 in 13 balls, with two fours and a six. KKR was 43/2 in 5.3 overs.
KKR reached the 50-run mark in seven overs. At the end of 10 overs, KKR was 68/2, with Venkatesh Iyer (11*) and Ajinkya Rahane (33*) being unbeaten. Venkatesh Iyer and Rahane continued the run-chase, however, they could not carry for long as Iyer's sluggish knock of 14 in 19 balls was ended by Sai Kishore, thanks to a fine catch from Washington Sundar. KKR was 84/3 in 11.3 overs and Iyer's struggles continued.
Rahane completed his third half-century in the tournament, with five fours and a six in 36 balls. But a stumping by Jos Buttler gave Sundar his coveted wicket for 50 runs. KKR was 91/4 in 12.3 overs. After Rahane's wicket, KKR's middle order went into a state of collapse. KKR did reach the 100-run mark in 13 overs and Andre Russell delivered some brute hits, however, he (21 in 15 balls, with two fours and a six), Ramandeep Singh (1) and Moeen Ali (0) went out in quick succession, with Prasidh getting two of these wickets. KKR was 119/7 in 16.3 overs.
Ishant Sharma got the eighth wicket, removing Rinku Singh for a pretty harmless 17 in 14 balls, with a four and a six. KKR was 151/8 in 19.1 overs. KKR ended their innings at 159/8 in 20 overs, with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (27* in 13 balls, with three fours and a six) and Harshit Rana (1*) unbeaten. Prasidh and Rashid delivered a top-class spell of 2/25 each. Ishant, Siraj, Sai and Sundar got a wicket each.
Earlier, Shubman Gill's captain knock and Jos Buttler's swashbuckling display at the end lifted Gujarat Titans (GT) to 198/3 against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the iconic Eden Gardens on Monday.
After being put to bat by the Knight Riders, GT's opening pair started steadily by negating the impending threat from Vaibhav Arora and Moeen Ali. Gujarat found its first boundary of the match on the 12th delivery after Sudharsan went on the back foot and cut the ball hard to find the fence for a four.
With Gill taking his time at the other end to adjust to the conditions, Sudharsan, with his refined shots, picked up two boundaries in the next over to increase the run flow. The GT skipper, who stood unbeaten at 6(11) after the fourth over, had finally understood what was on offer and showed signs of opening his arms in his former home against his former side.
He hammered Harshit Rana for back-to-back fours and then welcomed mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy with a boundary as GT ended the powerplay with 45/0. Right after the powerplay, ill unleashed a brutal onslaught on Moeen Ali.
With a strike clean as a whistle, Gill danced down the track and walloped the ball over deep midwicket for a 78m six. He topped it up with back-to-back boundaries to increase the run flow. Sudharsan joined the action and flaunted his boundary-hitting muscle in the next couple of overs.
In the 11th over, Gill pushed the ball away for a single to reach his third fifty of the tournament, while Sudharsan, with aplomb, cleared the fence on the next ball for a maximum and then sprinted for a double to celebrate his fifth half-century of the season.
As GT decided to go full throttle in the second half of the first innings, Kolkata found the breakthrough. Andre Russell hit the deck hard and generated extra bounce to outwit Sudharsan and lure out a faint edge to Gurbaz behind the stumps, ending the sizzling 114-run opening stand.
Jos Buttler came in and went all guns blazing by slamming a hat-trick of fours to take away 13 from Russell's over despite the loss of a wicket. Buttle continued to deal with boundaries while Gill pushed for a century.With GT's innings heading towards its climax, Gill broke the shackles and blazed his way to the three-digit figures. He top-edged the ball away for a maximum and then followed it up by placing the ball in the open space for a four in the 18th over, adding to Vaibhab's woes.
However, Vaibhab bounced back, and a low full toss did the trick. Gill sent it flat towards deep midwicket, and Rinku Singh came in to take a stunning catch to end Gill's blitzkrieg on 90(56). Rahul Tewatia failed to live up to his reputation of playing a flashy cameo. Jos Buttler (41*) and Shahrukh Khan (11*) combined to take away 18 runs from the final over to propel GT to 198/3. Brief Scores: GT: 198/3 (Shubman Gill 90, Sai Sudharsan 52, Vaibhav Arora 1/44) beat KKR: Ajinkya Rahane 50, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 27*, Prasidh Krishna 2/25).