In the 25th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Gujarat Titans (GT) continued their dominant surge at the Narendra Modi Stadium, securing a 5-wicket victory over a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Skipper Shubman Gill (86) anchored a chase like an elite, scoring fifty, which included eight fours and four sixes. Gill’s measured aggressiveness kept the required rate from spiralling, and he was helped by a scorching start from Jos Buttler (25) and a solid Sai Sudharsan (22). Despite a slight late-inning wobble when Gill and Glenn Phillips were removed in short succession, the veteran Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan stayed composed in the last over to clinch the victory. In what was a clinical display of home dominance, the Titans successfully chased down 181 with two balls to spare, extending KKR’s winless streak to six matches in IPL 2026.
Cameron Green was a lone warrior, scoring 79 off 55 balls to save an innings that was in shreds at 32/3. Green took advantage of being dropped twice to move KKR to 180, but he received no help from the other end. Rovman Powell (27) was the only other batter to reach twenty, with the rest of the team, including stars Rinku Singh and Sunil Narine, falling short. A “bizarre” end saw the side bowled out on the penultimate ball, with a lack of strike rotation in the dying overs losing them a possible 10-15 runs.
The Titans’ pace battery set the tone from the first ball. Mohammed Siraj was excellent with the new ball, removing KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane for a golden duck and finishing on 2/23. Kagiso Rabada produced sheer firepower, blasting through the top order to score 3/29. While Rashid Khan and Ashok Sharma were marginally more expensive, the team’s ability to take up wickets on a regular basis prevented KKR from ever forming a genuinely threatening partnership beyond Green.
KKR’s bowling team worked hard to defend a target that was potentially 20 runs short on a flat Ahmedabad ground. Varun Chakaravarthy was the highlight of the bowlers, taking 2/34 with his mystery spin, including Buttler’s important wicket. Sunil Narine was as efficient as ever, scoring 1/28 and keeping GT honest in the middle overs. However, the pace attack of Kartik Tyagi and Vaibhav Arora battled with discipline, giving up 75 runs between them. Despite Ramandeep providing a ray of hope with a wicket in the final over, the absence of early breakthroughs proved catastrophic against a solid GT top order.
With this win, GT now have six points and are fourth in the points table.
Scorecard:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 180/10, Overs 20, Cameron Green 79, Prasidh Krishna 2/32
Gujarat Titans: 181/5, Overs 19.4, Shubman Gill 86, Varun Chakaravarthy 2/34
