After KKR won the toss and opted to bat, our bowlers delivered an outstanding bowling performance to bowl them out for 180 in their 20 overs.
Our South African speedster Kagiso Rabada was the main man with the ball as he finished with impressive figures of 3/29. Apart from KG, Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma claimed two important wickets, while Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Later, captain Shubman Gill led from the front with a match-defining knock of 86, along with vital contributions from Jos Buttler (25), Sai Sudharsan (22) and Glenn Phillips (19) to guide us to our first win of the season at our home.
Here’s how the game panned out at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad:
Miyan, KG breathed fire in the Powerplay
Our bowlers got us off to a sensational start at our Gujaratno Gadh. Miyan Siraj provided us with an early breakthrough as he dismissed opposition captain Ajinkya Rahane for a golden duck in the very first over.
Kagiso then joined the party as he removed KKR wicketkeeper-batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi (8) in the following over.
KG soon bagged the huge wicket of Tim Seifert (19) to reduce KKR to 32/3 in the fourth over.
Ashok and Skiddy shone in the middle overs
After losing three early wickets, KKR’s Cameron Green and Rovman Powell stitched a partnership to resurrect their innings. However, in the 11th over, our talented youngster Ashok bamboozled Powell (27) to end their 55-run stand.
Prasidh ‘Skiddy’ Krishna claimed his first wicket on the night as he got the better of Anukul Roy (9) in the 15th over.
In the final few overs, our Titans continued to pick up wickets at regular intervals. KG removed Rinku Singh in the 16th over to wrap up his brilliant spell.
Ashok then dismissed Ramandeep Singh (17), while Siraj sent Sunil Narine (0) back to the pavilion.
In the penultimate over, Prasidh and Buttler combined to inflict a brilliant run out of Kartik Tyagi, while Rashid removed Cameron Green (79) as we bowled out KKR for 180.
In reply, skipper Gill and Sudharsan got us off to a blistering start. Gill and Sai Su clobbered Anukul for 20 runs, including three sixes in the third over.
Captain Gill looked in ominous touch as he then hit Vaibhav Arora for a huge six to bring our team’s fifty in 4.2 overs. However, we soon lost Sai Su, who departed for a quick-fire 22.
Meanwhile, Jos the Boss, took time to settle as he hit Sunil Narine for two fours and a six in the sixth over.
Gill show at Gujaratno Gadh
Gill and Buttler continued the onslaught as our dynamic duo smashed the KKR bowlers to all parts of the ground. Looking to up the ante, Buttler fell for a 15-ball 25 in the 10th over.
At the other end, our talismanic skipper Gill brought up his 29th TATA IPL fifty, this time off just 27 balls. This was his third successive half-century in the ongoing tournament.
Gill continued his magnificent knock as he took on Varun Chakaravarthy and Tyagi. However, as we inched closer to victory, we lost some momentum as Washi and Gill fell in quick succession.
Hat-trick of Ws completed
Batting at No.5, Glenn Phillips quickly smashed a couple of boundaries in the 18th over to put the pressure back on the bowlers.
With four runs needed in the final over, we lost Phillips (19), before Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan guided us to a clinical victory with two balls to spare.
For his match-winning knock, captain Gill was adjudged the Player of the Match in Ahmedabad.
“The only thing that matters is the win and you know, obviously, playing the final and winning the cup would be something that I'm looking forward to,” Gill said at the post-match presentation.
What's next for the Titans?
After three consecutive victories, our Titans will aim to continue the winning streak when we host the Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday, April 20.
Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 180/10 in 20 overs (Cameron Green 79, Rovman Powell 27; Kagiso Rabada 3/29) lost to Gujarat Titans 181/5 in 19.4 overs (Shubman Gill 86, Jos Buttler 25; Varun Chakaravarthy 2/34) by 5 wickets
