IPL 2023, KKR vs GT, Top Performances: Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 81, Josh Little-Noor Ahmad's combined 4-46 and Vijay Shankar-David Miller's 87 are top performances. Gujarat Titans beat KKR and move to first place in points table.
Brief Scores: KKR 179-7 (Gurbaz 81, Russell 34, Noor 2-21, Little 2-25) lost to GT 180-3 (Shankar 51*, Gill 49, Narine 1-24) by 7 wickets
Player of the Match: Josh Little – 2-25
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) locked horns with Gujarat Titans (GT) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday in the 39th match of IPL 2023.
Little, Ahmad restrict KKR to 179-7
KKR started quite well with Rahmanullah Gurbaz being the flag-bearer for them scoring a quickfire 27-ball fifty to see them at 84-2 after 10 overs. For Gujarat, it was an off day for Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan with the ball as both were punished by Gurbaz all over the park. Like it has been the case with GT, a new match-winner emerges every match as this time it was Joshua Little and Noor Ahmad who brought GT back in the game with four wickets between them. But Andre Russell in the death overs helped KKR reach 179-7 in their 20 overs.
KKR did take an early wicket on this 50/50 wicket however a solid 50-run partnership between Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya for the second wicket put GT ahead in the match. KKR came back quite strongly in the second half picking two wickets inside three overs to again leave the match in the balance. But then, David Miller and Vijay Shankar combined to put up a match-winning 87* partnership where they targeted the KKR spinners. It was the game turning moment as GT won comfortably with two overs to spare to go to the top of the points table.
Read More: IPL 2023, RCB vs KKR: Varun, Suyash shine as KKR thrash RCB twice in season; RCB at 4th place
Talking Point: KKR continue to struggle at home
KKR continue to struggle at the Eden Gardens with a spin-heavy bowling attack and short boundaries. GT, on the other hand, like always had a new match-winner. The positive pattern continues for GT with two youngsters, Noor Ahmad and Joshua Little stepping up in a big game.
Top three performances from KKR vs GT, IPL 2023
Rahmanullah Gurbaz steals the show with a quickfire 81 off just 39 deliveries
Gurbaz started his innings in rampage mode by taking on Hardik Pandya for a 13-run over which consisted of two massive sixes. After that, he continued hitting sixes and fours to every bowler that came onto bowl, whether it be Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little or his own countrymen Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz completed his fifty in 27 balls and ensured that KKR didn’t miss the firepower of Jason Roy at the top. His innings assisted KKR to be at 84-2 at the 10th over mark. A flurry of boundaries in the next 10 deliveries helped him score 30 more as he accelerated towards 81. It required an Afghanistan combo of Noor Ahmad with the ball and Rashid Khan with a splendid diving catch in the field to dismiss their counterpart in this innings.
Miller-Shankar stole victory for GT with a 87* run partnership
At a point where GT lost two back-to-back wickets in two overs, the match looked as if it would change directions towards KKR. David Miller and Vijay Shankar both did not take chances early and the duo only scored 13 runs in 12 deliveries combined between 13th to 14th over. Miller then targeted young Suyash Sharma for two sixes and they collected 18 runs from the over to shift the balance of the game.
Post the sixes, Shankar let loose and hit Varun Chakravarthy for 24 runs in the 17th over to seal the game thereafter. The solid duo of Vijay Shankar and David Miller played calm yet quick innings to put GT on the winning side with 13 deliveries to spare.
Joshua Little and Noor Ahmad puts the breaks on KKR scoring
When KKR were about to build a partnership between Gurbaz and Venkatesh Iyer, Josh Little produced a double wicket over to derail the home side. An accurate stump to stump delivery from Little had Iyer plumb in front of the wickets; it was followed by the wicket of KKR captain Nitish Rana in the same over to shift the momentum back in GT’s favour.
Noor Ahmad, the left-arm wrist spinner was experimental in dismissing the two dangerous fish of KKR - Gurbaz and Rinku. The duo not only picked four wickets between them but also bowled an economical spell of eight overs between them giving just 46 runs away.
Points Table Scenario & What's Next
GT rocketed to the top of the points table with 12 points after this win while KKR remained at the seventh spot with 6 points from 9 games. GT will now host Delhi Capitals on May 2, while KKR will travel to Hyderabad to play SRH on May 4.
IPL 2023 Points Table
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