Gill hits 86 as Gujarat keep KKR winless with five-wicket victory

Skipper Shubman Gill continued with his good knack of making a truckload of runs at Narendra Modi Stadium – this time by smashing a serene 86 to guide Gujarat Titans (GT) to a comfortable five-wicket victory over a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday.

While Gill’s 50-ball masterclass, laced with eight fours and four sixes coming at a strike-rate of 172, ensured GT’s dominance for the majority of the chase, it also condemned KKR to their fifth defeat in this season, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table.

Though KKR fought hard and took the game deep, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan kept their head calm to complete the chase after a few nervy moments with two balls to spare and make it a hat-trick of victories for GT, the IPL 2022 winners, as they are now at fourth spot on the points table.

Three-time champions KKR would be left ruing the lack of support from their batting group, minus Finn Allen to Cameron Green, who finally came good by hitting a superb 79 off 55 balls. But the collapses meant they made 180 in their 20 overs, after being certain to reach 200 at one point.

Despite Green’s fine knock, laced with seven fours and four sixes, KKR lost their last six wickets for just 33 runs in the final phase of the innings.

Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers for GT, returning figures of 3-33, while Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna played vital roles in stifling the KKR batters, though Ashok Sharma and Rashid Khan were expensive.

Pushed into bowling first after KKR elected to bat, Siraj struck in the very first over as skipper Ajinkya Rahane skewed an outswinger to mid-on and fell for a golden duck. Rabada then doubled the misery in the second over by having Angkrish Raghuvanshi nick behind to the keeper. When Tim Seifert (12) slapped a short delivery from Siraj straight to point, KKR were reeling at 32/3 in four overs.

KKR’s recovery was initially sparked by Rovman Powell, who hit a cameo of 27 off 20 balls, including two massive sixes, shifting the pressure back onto the GT bowlers. His 55-run stand with Green, who timed the ball really well, steadied the ship before Ashok Sharma deceived him with a 107kph slower ball.

Green, who was struggling on 27 off 29 balls at one stage, suddenly found his groove in the 12th over by launching Rashid for a six and a four. He took a particular liking to the spinners, scoring 33 off just 18 balls against them. His 60-run partnership off 23 balls with Anukul Roy saw KKR gallop from 87/4 to 139/4 in the space of three overs.

However, the dismissal of Roy (9) by Prasidh Krishna in the 15th over triggered a sensational slide. Rinku Singh’s poor run continued as he fell to Rabada, while Ramandeep Singh (17) holed out after a brief flurry of boundaries.

In a bizarre final stretch, Green, who had reached 75 off 44 balls, became a virtual spectator at the non-striker’s end as wickets tumbled, with the seam-bowling all-rounder facing only two of them during that sequence. Green managed only four runs off his final 11 deliveries before being caught behind off the last ball of the innings off Rashid to end a weird innings for KKR.

Chasing 181, Gill was in sublime touch from the outset, unleashing a trademark exhibition of high-elbow drives, short-arm jabs, and delectable flicks. He found an able ally in B Sai Sudharsan (22), who smacked Anukul Roy for two majestic sixes, as GT raced to 50 in just 4.2 overs.

Though Sunil Narine broke the 71-run opening stand by dismissing Sudharsan, who top-edged to short fine leg, Jos Buttler joined in to keep the momentum going with a brisk 25 off 15 balls, before holing out to the deep on a googly from Varun Chakaravarthy, who got his first wicket of IPL 2026.

Despite Washington Sundar falling to Chakaravarthy, Gill reached his half-century off 27 deliveries and continued to hit a flurry of boundaries. He looked destined for making a hundred before a moment of brilliance by Cameron Green at deep backward point ended his stay. Gill’s dismissal triggered a slight wobble as KKR’s bowlers took the game into the final over.

With five runs needed off the final over, Ramandeep Singh removed Glenn Phillips (19) on the first ball to spark a glimmer of hope for KKR. But Tewatia and impact sub Shahrukh remained calm to seal the win for GT.

Indo-Asian News Service