In the 13th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to bat first. Rashid Khan led GT today as Hardik Pandya was unwell and certainly fans did not miss their regular captain until the final over. While GT batted strongly throughout their 20 overs, they still missed out on a few runs which could have been gathered in the middle overs. KKR bowlers were not that impressive but Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma and Umesh Yadav were remarkable with their economy.
While chasing 205, the two-time IPL winners got off to lose start as both their openers, Rahmanullah Gubaz (15) and N Jagadeesan (6), got out early in the powerplay. It was Venkatesh Iyer (83), who gave KKR fans a reason to cheer. The impact player smashed an unbelievable half-century which included eight fours and five sixes. Along with him, captain Nitish Rana (45) also contributed runs in the middle over which gave KKR a strong push. After receiving a massive hiccup courtesy of Rashid Khan in the 17th over, it looked all done and dusted for the visitors. However, Rinku Singh (48*) had some other plans. The no.5 batter for the Knight Riders hammered a match-winning knock which included six sixes. Notably, Rinku had to chase 28 runs in the final 5 deliveries which he smashed successfully with five maximums.
In the first innings, Vijay Shankar (63*) was the highest run-getter for the Gujarat-based team. The Rashid Khan-led side also got a strong start thanks to Wriddhiman Saha‘s (17) and Shubman Gill‘s (39) knocks. Sai Sudharsan (53) also contributed valuable runs in the middle over with his fascinating half-century which took GT to a total of 204/4 in 20 overs.
Sunil Narine picked up three GT batters in the first innings with the ball. Furthermore, Suyash Sharma also got one wicket.
For GT, Rashid Khan registered season 16’s first hat trick. The right arm-break bowler picked up three wickets in the 17th over which got GT back in the game. Alzarri Joseph also bagged two wickets while one wicket each was also taken by Mohammad Shami and Joshua Little.
Rinku Singh was adjudged Man of the Match for his electrifying batting show. Following this win, KKR won their second consecutive game and are now sitting second on the points table.
Scorecard:
Gujarat Titans: 204/4, Overs 20, Vijay Shankar 63, Sunil Narine 3/33
Kolkata Knight Riders: 207/7, Overs 20, Venkatesh Iyer 83, Rashid Khan 3/37