Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kept their Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs dreams alive after the Ajinkya Rahane-led side defeated Gujarat Titans by 29 runs in a high-scoring thriller at the iconic Eden Gardens on Saturday. Sent to bat first, KKR rode on knocks from Finn Allen (93), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (82 not out) and Cameron Green (52 not out) to put 247/2.
In reply, Gujarat Titans managed 218/4 despite fighting knocks from captain Shubman Gill (85) and Jos Buttler (57). The win lifted KKR to seventh spot, displacing Delhi Capitals, with 11 points from 12 games. Gujarat Titans remained at second spot with 16 points from 13 matches despite defeat.
Had Gujarat Titans won the game, they would have gone on top of the standings with 18 runs and “Qualified” written beside them. Royal Challengers Bengaluru continue to lead the standings. Gujarat Titans will play their final group-stage game against Chennai Super Kings on May 21.
For KKR, they need to beat Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals at home in their final two games to stake a claim for a spot in the top four. Earlier, Chennai Super Kings’ loss to Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians’ win over Punjab Kings have helped KKR in the points table.
What happened in KKR vs GT in Kolkata?
Earlier, Finn Allen blasted a 35-ball 93, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi hit an unbeaten 44-ball 82 for KKR after being sent into bat first. Allen went on a six-hitting spree, smashing 10 maximums and four boundaries to add 95 off 41 balls with Raghuvanshi. The Mumbai lad then shared another 108 off 53 balls with Cameron Green (52 not out) to power KKR past 240-run mark.
In reply, Gujarat Titans fell short despite knocks from Gill and Buttler. Opener Sai Sudarsan was retired hurt but returned to make a 28-ball 53 not out, but that was too late for Gujarat Titans. Sunil Narine (2/29) claimed two wickets on his 200th IPL game and Saurabh Dubey snapped one for KKR.
For Gujarat Titans, Mohammed Siraj (1/50), Sai Kishore (1/38) were the wicket-takers. It was also KKR’s 100th game at Eden Gardens. Gujarat Titans have to blame themselves as they dropped four catches, including two off Allen. Gill addressed Gujarat Titans’ poor fielding after the game.
“Looking at the wicket, 200-210 was par score but we dropped too many catches. Pitch was good, the odd one was stopping but I felt we batted well to get to the score we did. No concerns but our fielding could’ve been a lot better. We set a certain standard and dropping 3 sitters – we didn’t deserve to win this one,” said the Gujarat Titans skipper after the loss.
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