Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 25 Match Summary

What's next? Been a long week? We feel you. But worry not, as an entertaining double header weekend awaits you all. Saturday, 18th April, will see two blockbuster clashes in the making. The day starts in Bengaluru, where the second-placed Royal Challengers Bengaluru host the Delhi Capitals at the M. Chinnaswamy. Following that game, it will be the battle between orange and yellow in Hyderabad as Sunrisers Hyderabad take on the Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. It all starts at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT), but our buildup begins well in advance. Until then, we sign off from here. Cheers!

GT dominate KKR at home - That's a hat-trick of wins for the Gujarat Titans after starting their season with two defeats in a row. They have got their campaign up and running and back on track. They will stay home for their next assignment as they host the Mumbai Indians on Monday, 20th April at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT). And as for the Kolkata Knight Riders, things are just looking so ominous for them, though they will walk out with a few positives. Cameron Green is back among runs, and Varun Chakaravarthy also found a bit of rhythm with the ball. But ultimately, they stay winless as the season fast-approaches the midpoint. The Knight Riders have a quick turnaround as they will be bound for home. They prepare to host the high-flying Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens on Sunday, 19th April at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT), hoping to get their first win.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - The captain of the Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill, receives the award for his outstanding knock of 86 (50). He also collects and wears the Orange Cap. Gill says that for him, playing the final and winning the cup is all that matters and not personal accolades. He admits they would have ideally liked to finish the game a couple of overs earlier and is quite disappointed with himself for not seeing it through. He adds that he will look to correct that the next time the opportunity arises. Shubman praises the way Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada bowled, saying it felt like they could pick up a wicket every ball. He reveals that he asked them if they could bowl 3 overs in a row, but acknowledges that in such hot conditions, it was not easy. The GT captain feels KKR took the game away from them in the middle phase and emphasises the importance of looking for wickets, especially against a side with a long batting line-up. Gill says they knew KKR would look to attack, so the focus was on finding attacking options with the ball. Gill also mentions that fitness is something he worked on in the months leading up to the tournament and adds that it is all about staying in the present. When asked if the beard is here to stay, Gill smiles and says he just wanted to try something different, adding that they have won 3 in a row since, so let's see.

... Time for the post-match Presentation ...

Let's hear it from Kagiso Rabada - He begins by admitting that he felt he didn't bowl at his best in this game. Adds that bowling in India as a fast bowler can be challenging, and with the way the game has evolved, you have to keep up. He admits that the pitch played a part and gives credit to the batters, but stresses that the job remains to hit decent areas with the ball. He reflects on the tightening margins in the modern game, pointing to the Impact Player rule as something that stretches batting line-ups even further, leaving bowlers with far less room for error. His message to himself and his peers is not to be too hard on themselves when things do not go to plan. Rabada then turns to his new ball partner, Siraj, saying it is awesome to see him bowling the way he is. He also praises Prasidh, the Purple Cap holder, for his consistency, and reserves special praise for Ashok, who he says has stepped up and bowled crucial overs. He hopes the group can continue in the same vein and keep delivering positive results.

The captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders - Ajinkya Rahane says it is never easy to talk immediately after a defeat, but he wants to focus on the positives. He highlights the impact made by Cameron Green after the kind of start they endured with the bat. Rahane adds that being 147/4 and then finishing on 180 made things slightly difficult, suggesting they fell short of what they were aiming for. He credits the bowling unit for taking the game deep and pushing it into the final over. Jinx praises Shubman Gill’s batting and notes that the back-of-a-length deliveries were holding on the surface. He shares that there was a bit of dew around, but is quick to add that he does not want to use that as an excuse. Rahane feels they needed wickets in the Powerplay to put more pressure on the opposition, but Sudharsan and Gill batted well. He reveals that Cameron Green was struggling with cramps, which is why he was in and out of the field and did not bowl. Ajinkya believes that it is all about staying in the moment, admitting that when things are not going your way, there is a tendency to overthink.

A middling score on the board - It was a tale of two halves for KKR, and unfortunately for them, the wrong half came last. KKR never got going. Rahane, Raghuvanshi, and Seifert all fell inside the Powerplay, leaving them three down and in deep trouble before the innings had barely begun. Enter Rovman Powell, promoted up the order. The big West Indian brought some much-needed intent, and that positivity proved contagious. Green fed off the energy, and the two steadied the ship and stitched together a 55-run partnership that helped KKR get back on track through some big overs. But Powell's departure changed everything as GT kept chipping away at the wickets with regularity. Green soldiered on alone and brought up a fine half-century, single-handedly dragging KKR towards respectability. The problem was that he could barely get on strike in the final five overs, which resulted in the slowdown. Hence, KKR couldn't finish on a high and were restricted well short of 200.

Plans fall flat - KKR's bowlers never really found their footing. They leaked runs in crucial phases, lacked the penetration to build pressure, and by the time they had any chance of making an impact, the game was already well beyond them. Varun Chakaravarthy found his rhythm back with a couple of wickets, while Narine was at his usual best yet again, but the irregularity of wickets cost KKR yet again. Gill's masterclass was eventually halted, and it did get too close for their comfort, with the game being dragged into the final over. But Glenn Phillips chipped in with a crucial contribution, and Tewatia and Shahrukh applied the finishing touches. GT did not crash over the line. They just managed to tiptoe over it.

Gill, the maestro with the bat - Sai and Gill did what Sai and Gill do. No fireworks, no hitting with anger, just silky timing into the gaps and ruthless punishment of anything loose. When Narine prised out Sudharsan, it threatened to open a door, but Buttler walked out and shut it immediately, batting with intent and refusing to let the dot balls pile up. By the end of the Powerplay, GT were cruising at 71/1. KKR, for context, had been 37 for 3 at the same stage. The game, in all honesty, was done and dusted right there. And the centre of dominance was Shubman Gill, who treated everyone with several eye-pleasing strokes, continuing his love affair with Ahmedabad and getting to a well-deserved half century as well.

GT get past the finish line - It got a bit nervy at the end, didn't it? The Titans took the scenic route, slowed down in the last few overs, lost a couple of key wickets as well, but did manage to get the job done. This is GT's first win at home this season and with this, they march into the top four in the league standings. Spare a thought for Rahane and his Knight Riders, though. It is fair to say that their campaign is virtually on the brink of getting over well early, as this is their fifth defeat in six games. They are yet to get their first win of this season, with a lot of questions to answer.

That will do it nicely for the Gujarat Titans! They huff and puff their way over the line. GT win by 5 wickets and hand the winless KKR their 5th defeat of the season. Ramandeep bashes the hard length and keeps it away from the batter's arc. Shahrukh Khan hops and reaches out to slam it wide of long off. Rovman Powell moves swiftly to his left and tumbles to make the stop, but cannot prevent the batters from coming back for the second run.

Oh, that could have gone anywhere! Ramandeep takes pace off and goes full, on middle. Tewatia pushes out in front and the ball skews off a leading edge. Ajinkya Rahane at extra cover is standing on the edge of the ring and the ball drops well in front of him. Just a single. 2 required off 3 balls.

On a hard length, on off. Shahrukh Khan waits back and runs it down to deep backward point with an open bat face for a single.

Ahem! It is not over until it is over. GT use their impact sub option as Shahrukh Khan is in at number 7. Prasidh Krishna makes way for him.

Prasidh Krishna is substituted by Shahrukh Khan

OUT! CAUGHT! Well, well. Glenn Phillips goes and KKR have a glimmer of hope. Ramandeep bends his back and digs it in short, around the off stump. Phillips gets on his toes and looks to drag the pull in front of square. He was better off giving himself a bit of room and going through the off side. Glenn fails to get on top of the bounce and a top edge is found. Rinku Singh comes charging in off the ropes and grabs it near his chest. 4 needed off 5 for GT.

Not an ideal start from Ramandeep. A wide at this stage is a cardinal sin.

Wide! Ramandeep Singh starts with a wide. Tries to keep it away from the batter's arc but he slips it beyond the tramline. Glenn Phillips is standing on the off stump and he lets it be.

So we will go into the final over, then. The Titans need 5 runs to win. But who will bowl the last over? Will Rahane go with Green, who hasn't bowled a single over in this game, quite surprisingly? No, it will be Ramandeep Singh to bowl the last.

Pitched up now, full and wide on off. Phillips creams it to deep cover for just a single.

A surprise short ball from Arora. He gets the ball to climb on the batter. Tewatia is late on the pull and the ball gets big on him. It comes off the splice of the blade and balloons towards the vacant mid-wicket region. They cross.

A yorker, at the toes. Glenn turns it away to deep mid-wicket for a single.

Nails the wide yorker from around the stumps. Phillips drops his bat down on the ball and digs it out beside the strip on the leg side. Tewatia wants a single but Glenn is not aware of where the ball is and Anukul Roy charges to the ball from mid on to cut down the single.

Low full toss, on middle. Tewatia gets low and swats it away to deep square leg for a run.

Two runs saved! A little too straight from Arora. Full and angled in at the pads from around the wicket. Tewatia makes use of the angle and flicks it behind square leg. Kartik Tyagi is quick across the turf to his left from deep square leg. He puts in a dive and makes a half-stop. The ball threatens to trickle back into the ropes, but Sunil Narine, converging from deep fine leg, mops it up. Did Tyagi slide into the boundary cushions when he had the ball in hand? The third umpire is called into action, and after multiple replays, Tyagi’s effort is deemed clean. There was also a check on whether the boundary cushions had been pushed back and if the ball had actually crossed the rope, but all is in order.

Is that a boundary? This is much closer than it looked in real time. Tyagi dives to cut the ball off, but the boundary cushions appear to have been pushed back with Tyagi's slide, and the ball seemingly stops short of the rope. It is picked up by Sunil Narine. But did he pick the ball up before touching the cushions? Several angles are checked, but this is too close. And the verdict goes in favor of the fielding team. So a certain boundary saved by Tyagi.

Righto, 2 overs left. GT are within touching distance and need 11 to win. Vaibhav Arora will complete his spell now. 3-0-29-1 so far.

Going across the off stump, fractionally on a back of a length. This is cut away to deep point by Tewatia. He will keep the strike with this single. A wicketless outing for Tyagi, conceding 40 runs in his 4 overs.

Pace on now, on a good length, on middle. Phillips hops and is a bit rushed. Ekes out an inside edge onto the pads and it goes through square leg for a single.

FOUR! Gets it away! Not much wrong with the ball, to be honest. Tyagi serves the slower bumper, over off. Phillips gets on his toes and he waits for the ball to arrive. He gets on top of the bounce and helps the pull between short fine leg and deep backward square leg for four more. 13 more needed for GT.