The IPL 2023 match between the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was wonderfully devastating and awesomely dramatic. The final moments of KKR’s 205-run chase were at once cathartic and gut-wrenching.
Needing 29 to win off the last over, Rinku Singh got stuck into a hapless Yash Dayal and hit five consecutive sixes to seal a memorable three-wicket win for KKR. Dayal crumbled under pressure and dished out full tosses and short balls, which Rinku had no trouble depositing into the stands to leave the Titans dazed and bewildered.
Venkatesh Iyer’s breathtaking 40-ball 83 had brought the equation down to 50 off 24 for KKR. Rashid Khan, leading in the absence of Hardik Pandya, had gone for 35 in his first three overs without any success. But with Andre Russell at the crease, a batter he has got out four times in 38 balls in all T20 cricket with an average of 13.50, Rashid came on and claimed the first hat-trick of this IPL to reduce KKR to 155/7. Russell was the first to go, caught behind upon review. Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur were caught and adjudged lbw off the next two balls as KKR’s spirited riposte threatened to fizzle into a meek surrender. But Rinku had other plans.
Earlier, Mohammad Shami and Josh Little - GT’s Impact Player - removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and N. Jagadeesan to leave KKR two down for 28 in four overs. But Impact Player Iyer and captain Nitish Rana kept the Knight Riders alive with impressive boundary-hitting. While Iyer fed on Dayal’s short balls and hit him for a four and six in the seventh over, Rana punished similar lengths from Alzarri Joseph for two sixes.
KKR players celebrate the three-wicket win with Rinku SIngh, who hit five consecutive sixes in the last over. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
Iyer and Rana brought up the 100-stand in 54 balls. Sandwiched in between was Iyer’s 26-ball fifty, which included five fours and three sixes. But just when it looked like KKR was running away with the game, Joseph had Rana caught at mid-off.
Iyer, at the other end, had set off on a sprint. With 73 needed off 36, Iyer smashed Little for two fours and a six but immediately called for a water break. By now, he was drenched in sweat and fighting dehydration. The heat exhaustion seemed to have taken its toll when he miscued an attempted lofted drive to be caught for a 40-ball 83.
In the afternoon, the Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to bat first on a fresh black-soil pitch. The Titans usually prefer playing on red-soil surfaces that provide less turn. With the ball expected to stop and turn on a black soil surface, the Knight Riders used Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy in the PowerPlay. Narine struck with his second ball of the match when Wriddhiman Saha miscued an attempted sweep over midwicket and skied a catch to Jagadeesan.
But Gill looked comfortable at the other end, driving Chakaravarthy for two successive fours as the latter ended up conceding 16. Nitish Rana gave his pacers one-over spells in the first 10, instead choosing to unleash his troika of spinners. But 19-year-old leggie Suyash Sharma, who made his IPL debut in the win against RCB, erred in his lengths today. Gill and No. 3 Sai Sudharsan lofted him down the ground for fours when he bowled too full.
The Titans reached 88/1 in 10 overs, with Suyash and Chakaravarthy going for 42 in their combined four overs at that stage. Both were guilty of not bowling within the stumps. Gill and Sudharsan had added 67 for the second wicket, off just 44 balls, when Narine finally induced a false shot from Gill to have him caught at long-on. The highlight of that stand was how they moved the scoreboard along at more than eight runs an over. If not for the blowing trumpets, beating drums, and waving flags, these two could have done their business and quietly faded into the background.
Gill’s dismissal brought Abhinav Manohar to the crease. Manohar, playing his first game this season, struck three consecutive fours off Umesh Yadav before being clean bowled off a googly from Suyash, who sprinted towards short third in celebration. Meanwhile, all noon, Sudharsan had been growing in stature. The flick was his most productive shot, and in making his second consecutive fifty this season off 34 balls, one would imagine he had cemented his No. 3 spot for now. However, he fell shortly after, to be Narine’s third victim of the innings.
Vijay Shankar of Gujarat Titans scored a 24-ball 63 to take his side to 204. | Photo Credit: SPORTZPICS for IPL
What came next was utter carnage. The death bowling was ordinary, the batting vicious. Lockie Ferguson and Thakur offered gloriously gift-wrapped lengths and Vijay Shankar kept swinging for the hills. He smacked four fours and five sixes to finish unbeaten on 63 off 24 as the last two overs produced 45 runs. It included three successive sixes off Thakur in the last over. Shankar added 51 in just 16 balls with David Miller. But as it turned out, this was only a prelude to an evening of unfathomable exhilaration.
WATCH: GT vs KKR match highlights and analysis in 5 mins
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