Gujarat Titans registered an emphatic win over the Knight Riders in their own den. The champions from the previous season have fallen further into troubled waters as they attempt to defend their title. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who has batted in the middle order in most of the games, was sent at number nine as an impact sub.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 118/5 after 15.5 overs. Need 81 runs in 25 balls. Rinku: 6* (8)
Rashid Khan, coming on to bowl his third over, made an impact immediately. The right-arm leg-spinner dismissed Andre Russell. The all-rounder scored only 21 runs in 15 balls as he was dismissed for another low score.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 114/4 after 15 overs. Need 85 runs in 30 balls. Rinku: 6* (8), Russell: 17* (10)
The game seems to have gone out of reach of the hosts. Even with Andre Russell at the crease, KKR seems to have left too much to chase in the final five overs.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 101/4 after 13 overs. Need 98 runs in 42 balls. Rinku: 2* (3), Russell: 10* (3)
Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed in the same over he completed a half-century. Once again, he was head and shoulders above the rest of the KKR batters. His dismissal brought Andre Russell to the crease, who has been kept quiet so far in the season.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 86/3 after 12 overs. Need 113 runs in 48 balls. Rahane: 47* (34), Rinku: 1* (2)
Venkatesh Iyer’s scratchy knock comes to an end. The left-handed batter was dismissed after scoring 14 runs in 19 balls. Sai Kishore, who has been bowling less in the last few overs, struck in his second over.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 68/2 after 10 overs. Need 131 runs in 60 balls. Rahane: 33* (28), Venkatesh: 11* (15)
It has been close to six overs since the KKR batters have hit a boundary. There have been at least three boundary saves by the GT fielders. The required rate has already gone above 13 runs per over.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 61/2 after 9 overs. Need 138 runs in 66 balls. Rahane: 29* (25), Venkatesh: 8* (12)
The hosts have been choked by the GT spinners. On the same pitch where their spinners remained wicketless, the Knight Riders have failed to attack the tweakers from the Titans. In the three overs bowled by Rashid and Washington Sundar, KKR have scored only 13 runs while losing Narine.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 53/2 after 8 overs. Need 146 runs in 72 balls. Rahane: 25* (22), Venkatesh: 4* (9)
Kolkata Knight Riders are in desperate need of switching gears. The asking rate is close to 12 runs per over, and soon could get out of reach on a pitch that slowed down in the middle overs.
The Titans, on the other hand, have bowled a few quiet overs, giving away only 12 runs in the last three overs.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 45/2 after 6 overs. Need 154 runs in 14 overs. Rahane: 22* (17), Venkatesh: 1* (2)
After losing a wicket in the first over of the innings, KKR had staged a decent comeback, however, they lost Sunil Narine too in the final over of the power play. Rashid Khan, who had been kept quiet in the season so far, came into bowl the sixth over. With only his third delivery, the Afghan spinner dismissed Narine.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 42/1 after 5 overs. Need 157 runs in 15 overs. Narine: 17* (12), Rahane: 20* (14)
Sunil Narine welcomed Siraj into his third over with a four and a six to ruin his figures. After conceding only eight runs off his first two overs, Siraj went for 13 in his third over.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 29/1 after 4 overs. Need 170 runs in 16 overs. Narine: 7* (8), Rahane: 19* (12)
Like Shubman Gill, Prasidh Krishna too is playing against his former franchise. The right-arm pacer spent a few years here at Eden Gardens. He too would be raring to leave a mark in this game like his skipper. He is currently holding the Purple Cap with 14 wickets in the season and could be among the wickets in this clash as well.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane, who has been in great touch against the pacer, has already hit Siraj and Krishna for three fours.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 20/1 after 3 overs. Need 179 runs in 17 overs. Narine: 6* (5), Rahane: 11* (9)
Siraj has been the go-to bowler this season for skipper, Shubman Gill in the power play. The right-arm pacer, after picking up a wicket in his first over, bowled another tight over, giving away only six runs.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 13/1 after 2 overs. Need 186 runs in 18 overs. Narine: 5* (4), Rahane: 5* (4)
The veteran pace bowler, Ishant Sharma, sharing the new ball with Siraj, was welcomed into the attack with a four on the first ball by Sunil Narine before KKR skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, too collected a boundary with a flick. The hosts would want this pair to continue batting for a long period.
Kolkata Knight Riders are at 2/1 after 1 over. Need 197 runs in 19 overs. Narine: 0* (1), Rahane: 0* (1)
It took Mohammed Siraj only five balls to pick up his first wicket of the night. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, playing his first game of the season, was dismissed after scoring only a single run in four balls. He was trapped in front of the stumps, and after being given out on the field, Gurbaz burnt a review as well by challenging the call.
He had already survived a close shave against Siraj in the over. On the second ball of the over, the Afghan batter charged down and almost played one to his stumps.
Shubman Gill put on a show against his former team in their own den. The GT skipper scored 90 runs off 55 deliveries and gave nothing away to the KKR bowlers. He received an immense amount of support from Sudharsan and Buttler. He was dismissed in the 18th over after playing a great knock, leading his team to a score of 198 runs in the first innings. Having come to the crease in the 13th over, Buttler remained not out and scored 41 runs in only 23 balls, providing a great finish to the innings.
Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, in spite of playing at home, looked out of sorts. The bowlers were wayward with their lines and lengths. The fielders, too, did not give the required support to their bowlers. It will take a monumental effort from the defending champions as they look to chase this total down. All eyes will be on Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the second innings. Gurbaz, who is playing his first game of the season, would want to make the most of the opportunity provided to him.
Gujarat Titans are at 162/1 after 17 overs. Gill: 80* (50), Buttler: 26* (17)
Gill is making Kolkata Knight Riders pay for their mistake of letting him go a few years ago. The right-handed batter is inching closer towards a century. It will be his first in the season if he reaches the triple-figure mark.
Gujarat Titans are at 151/1 after 16 overs. Gill: 70* (46), Buttler: 25* (15)
Varun Chakravarthy in spite of his splendid record against right-handed batters this season, has failed to pick up a wicket in his spell. The mystery spinner bowling his final over of the game did induce a false shot from Buttler, however, substitute fielder Manish Pandey put in a valiant effort but failed to complete the catch. Gill struck a couple of fours on the trot against his national teammate.
Gujarat Titans are at 139/1 after 15 overs. Gill: 61* (43), Buttler: 22* (12)
Harshit Rana in spite of being a pacer, started his over with three off-cutters that spun like genuine off-breaks. He was struck for a four by Buttler on the third ball despite it being a mis-hit. On the very next delivery, Rana induced a false shot from the English batter, but his bowling partner, Vaibhav Arora, shelled the catch. To make matters worse, the ball went for a four.
Gujarat Titans are at 129/1 after 14 overs. Gill: 60* (42), Buttler: 13* (7)
With Sai Sudharsan back in the pavilion, Varun Chakravarthy has returned back to the attack. Chakravarthy, in this season, has picked up 10 wickets all against the right-handed batters.
Rahane might have taken the right decision as he looks to break this stand between Gill and Buttler. He has a great match-up against the English batter and could very well take his wicket.
Gujarat Titans are at 126/1 after 13 overs. Gill: 58* (39), Buttler: 12* (4)
Ajinkya Rahane turned to his sixth bowling option, Andre Russell, to bowl the 13th over. The big man from Jamaica has once again shown that he can still play a huge role for KKR. He has broken an important partnership for his side. Sai Sudharsan was trying to play a square cut against a short-pitched delivery from Russell. But the left-handed batter could only connect a faint edge behind to the wicketkeeper, Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The wicket does not provide any reprieve for the defending champions as Jos Buttler has announced himself to the crease in some fashion, hitting three fours in the first four balls he faced against Russell.
Gujarat Titans are at 104/0 after 11 overs. Sudharsan: 50* (33), Gill: 50* (34)
After Phil Salt in the opening game of the season, Shubman Gill is now playing a crucial knock against his former team, Kolkata Knight Riders. The opening batter reached his fifty in 34 balls. However, he would want to carry on with his knock and potentially score a century.
The GT skipper has strung together a crucial century partnership at the top of the order with Sai Sudharsan, who himself has scored a half-century in the same over in 33 balls.
Gujarat Titans are at 89/0 after 10 overs. Sudharsan: 37* (28), Gill: 49* (33)
Both Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill are not only neutralising the three-pronged spin attack of the Knight Riders but are also scoring at a fairly quick clip. At the halfway stage, Ajinkya Rahane has already used his premier bowlers and is looking out of options.
Gujarat Titans are at 79/0 after 9 overs. Sudharsan: 31* (24), Gill: 46* (30)
Shubman Gill has been in incredible form against spinners this season. The right-handed batter in this match is striking at a rate of more than 150 in comparison to 130 against the pacers. The GT skipper is inching closer towards a half-century against his former franchise.
Gujarat Titans are at 62/0 after 7 overs. Sudharsan: 21* (17), Gill: 39* (25)
It seems like Shubman Gill has taken on the mantle to take the attack against the KKR spinners after the power play. He struck the first six of the innings on the first ball of the seventh over. Gill then smashed a couple of fours on the trot.
Gujarat Titans are at 45/0 after 6 overs. Sudharsan: 21* (17), Gill: 22* (19)
Both Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have been the best opening batters of the season so far. Jos Buttler at number three is like the cherry on top. Once again, the Titans have started their batting innings strongly without losing any wickets in the first six overs.
Varun Chakravarthy came on to bowl the last over of the power play and was welcomed into the attack with a four off the first delivery he bowled.
Gujarat Titans are at 38/0 after 5 overs. Sudharsan: 20* (15), Gill: 16* (15)
Shubman Gill, after starting his knock slowly, has seemed to find his touch with a couple of fours. Harshit Rana, coming into the attack, was welcomed by the former KKR batter with two fours.
Gujarat Titans are at 26/0 after 4 overs. Sudharsan: 19* (13), Gill: 6* (11)
Moeen Ali has eased the pressure that was exerted on the hosts in the previous game. The off-spinner gave away only two runs in his over after the previous over went for 12 runs.
Gujarat Titans are at 24/0 after 3 overs. Sudharsan: 18* (10), Gill: 5* (8)
Sai Sudharsan has once again started off with a flyer against the defending champions. The left-handed batter has already overtaken Nicholas Pooran at the top of the Orange Cap list. He has struck three fours already in the first three overs, while Shubman Gill, who was run out for a low score in the previous game, is taking his time to settle into his knock.
Gujarat Titans are at 12/0 after 2 overs. Sudharsan: 8* (6), Gill: 3* (6)
Moeen Ali coming into the side is straight into the attack, sharing the new ball with Vaibhav. He started his over with only four singles off the first five deliveries before being smashed for a four by Sudharsan.
Interestingly, each time Mooen has featured this season in the playing XI, KKR has gone on to win the match. The right-arm off-spinner was brought into the side, looking at the number of left-handed batters in GT.
Gujarat Titans are at 4/0 after 1 over. Sudharsan: 2* (2), Gill: 1* (4)
Vaibhav Arora has been at his best this season with the new ball so far. The right-arm pacer began his spell against the Gujarat Titans on a positive note. Apart from a wide on the first ball, Vaibhav was right on the money and gave only four runs in the first over.
KKR won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Sunil Narine, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Shubman Gill (C), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans have suffered contrasting results in their IPL 2025 campaign so far. The defending champions are in the seventh position in the points table in spite of playing with a settled unit. Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans are at the top of the points table, having won five of their seven games in the season so far. There will be a few changes expected in how the hosts lineup in Kolkata, while GT could very well go with the same team. The only player whose place could be questioned in the lineup is Ishant Sharma, who was struggling with his fitness in the previous game.
Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Shubman Gill (C), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma/Washington Sundar
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