Shubman Gill’s fluent 86 and the incisive new-ball burst from Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj powered the Gujarat Titans to a dominant five-wicket victory over a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
Gill controlled the chase from start to finish, unleashing his full range as he guided Titans to their third win of the campaign. His effort came after the pace pair of Rabada (3/29) and Siraj (2/23) dismantled the KKR top order, making full use of early movement to bundle them out for 180.
KKR’s innings was held together almost single-handedly by Cameron Green, whose battling 79 off 55 balls marked his first major batting performance of the season. Despite his resistance, the former champions remained without
a win in the current edition.
The contrast between the two powerplays underlined the contest. KKR crawled to 37 for 3, whereas Gill drove GT to a commanding 71 for 1, putting the chase firmly in their grasp inside the first six overs.
Pursuing what appeared to be a below-par target, Gill signalled intent immediately, collecting three boundaries, including a classical straight drive, and a six in the opening three overs.
From there, he settled into an assured anchor role, managing the tempo expertly and keeping the scoreboard moving. His 86 featured eight fours and four sixes, showcasing both control and aggression.
KKR chipped away with intermittent breakthroughs, but the fielding side never truly managed to choke the run flow or build sustained pressure on the Titans’ batting line-up.
After Sai Sudharsan’s dismissal, Jos Buttler walked in and kept the momentum intact, making an immediate impact by drilling a boundary off his first ball and then quickly adding a six and another four.
Earlier in the evening, KKR’s innings was derailed early as they slipped to three wickets down within the first four overs.
Rabada and Siraj were relentless with the new ball, and they were backed up effectively by Ashok Sharma (2/45) and Prasidh Krishna (1/32), who maintained discipline through the middle overs.
Green, initially tied down and struggling for timing, absorbed the early pressure before opening up later, striking seven fours and four sixes during his 55-ball effort.
He first put together a 55-run partnership with Rovman Powell and then followed it with a 60-run alliance alongside Anukul Roy, giving KKR a semblance of stability.
Green particularly went after Rashid Khan, attacking the leg-spinner for five boundaries and four sixes, though the Afghanistan star had the final say by having him caught behind off the last ball of the innings.
Fortune also played its part in Green’s stay. He survived an early LBW shout, benefited from an outside edge racing to the rope, and was put down on 62 by Washington Sundar off the very next delivery.
Yet, despite his efforts, he lacked meaningful support as the rest of the KKR batting line-up failed to occupy the crease for any significant duration.
Compounding KKR’s problems, Green saw little of the strike towards the closing overs, left stranded at the non-striker’s end as wickets fell around him.
Siraj and Rabada had already dictated the tone of the match during the powerplay, leaving KKR on the back foot from the outset.
Ajinkya Rahane was the first to go, departing for a golden duck in the opening over when Siraj had him caught behind.
Rabada then made his presence felt, delivering a classic outswinger that tempted young Angkrish Raghuvanshi into a tentative prod, only for the edge to carry through safely to the wicketkeeper.
Tim Seifert, featuring in his first match of the season, did not last long either, as Rabada outfoxed him with a short-of-a-length ball that the New Zealander slapped straight to his compatriot Glenn Phillips at point.
(With PTI Inputs)
