Rahmanullah Gurbaz, standing in for the injured Jason Roy, hit 81 off 39 against Gujarat Titans, his previous team. Still, Kolkata Knight Riders only managed to reach 179, which Titans easily passed with 13 balls to spare.
Andre Russell, who struck 34 off 19 in the end, was the only help Gurbaz had. Rashid Khan, who went for 50 or more for just the second time in the IPL, was taken out by Gurbaz. Noor Ahmad recorded the Afghan presence with 4-0-21-2, including the wicket of Gurbaz, while Josh Little held them down in the middle overs, leading to wickets.
Former Knight Rider Shubman Gill started the chase, and when two fast wickets in the middle overs threatened to make this a thriller, Vijay Shankar and David Miller closed it off magnificently.
Shami with early strikes
Due to a little downpour, the game began 45 minutes later than scheduled. The Titans changed their minds and decided to bowl after hearing the thunder after the coin toss. Mohammed Shami saw seam movement as the pitch became more exciting. He bowled during the powerplay to dismiss Shardul Thakur, who had been promoted, and N Jagadeesan.
Gill launches the chase
It appeared like the Knight Riders were far more than 20 short given the way the ball sound coming off Gill’s bat like pistol rounds. In the powerplay, he sped up to 35 off 20 without even attempting a six. He dominated, scoring 44 of the first 70 runs, much as Gurbaz.
Don’t take it deep
Due to the lack of drama associated with early finishes, the benefits of taking chases deep are frequently discussed. Miller and Vijay could have waited for some speed in the final three spin overs, but they chose not to. Miller started up by facing Suyash Sharma, and he promptly blasted two sixes, hastening the pace’s return. Now Vijay joined in, hitting a six off Russell before destroying Varun Chakravarthy, a teammate from Tamil Nadu, with three sixes in the 17th over. Before you knew it, he was bringing up his fifty in just 24 balls, and the Titans had six victories out of their previous eight games to reclaim the top spot.
Gujarat Titans 180 for 3 (Vijay 51*, Gill 49, Miller 32*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 179 for 7 (Gurbaz 81, Russell 34, Shami 3-33, Noor 2-21, Little 2-25) by seven wickets