Gujarat Titans makes way back to the top defeating KKR by eight runs

This has been the lowest score defended by any team in the tournament so far, and thus we can safely say bowlers stole the match for Titans to land them with their sixth win of the season from seven matches played. Gujarat Titans remain the only team who suffered a single loss till now.

Hardik helped post a competitive target of 157

Gujarat Titans won the toss to bat first and became the first team to do so this season. Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill opened the innings but had a poor start. Tim Southee struck Shubman Gill early for 5-ball 7, and skipper Hardik Pandya promoted himself up the order to bat at number 3. He built a 56-ball partnership with Wriddhiman Saha to fetch 47 runs off 33 for himself. Umesh Yadav dismissed Wriddhiman Saha for 25 runs, following which the skipper played a crucial knock alongside David Miller. In two consecutive overs, Shivam Mavi and Tim Southee took David Miller (27) and Hardik Pandya (67). After that, only Rahul Tewatia played a little part in contributing 17 runs, whereas the complete lower order, which includes Rashid Khan, Abhinav Manohar, Lockie Ferguson, and Yash Dayal, got dismissed for 0, 2, 0, 1, and 0 runs, respectively. The team posted a total of 156 at the end of 20 overs for the opposition.

Gujarat Titans bowlers completely dominated KKR batters.

The target looked achievable for Kolkata Knight Riders considering the depth of batting order they carry; however, they failed miserably to Titans' bowlers. Within the first three overs of their inning, Mohammed Shami dismissed both the openers, Sam Billings and Sunil Narine, for 4 and 5 runs, respectively. Nitish Rana (2) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (12) couldn't build a partnership or anchor innings, and Kolkatta Knight Riders lost all top-order batters within seven overs. Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer got 45-run off 36 balls in partnership, and just then, Rashid Khan trapped Venkatesh Iyer to break the duo's partnership. Rinku Singh fetched 35 off 28 before getting stumped off Yash Dayal's first ball of the spell. Andre Russell played a crucial knock and looked to snatch the match in KKR's favour. He was playing at 48 in the final over of the game but lost his wicket just when 12 runs were needed off five balls. Umesh Yadav tried to hit big after rotating the strike but couldn't end up on the winning side.   

Rashid Khan, Player of the Match, said, "It was a great win and overall, the way Hardik batted at the top, I thought that was a good total on that wicket, and the start was perfect for us with the ball. I think the fast bowlers set it up, and I just tried to keep it as tight as possible and luckily ended up on the right side. That was the discussion that the more (overs) I keep for him, the better for us and creates a chance for getting him out, and he (Russell) is not used to blocking the balls, and that might change the momentum, and we needed to take advantage of that. That was the plan, but luckily we got him in the end; we know how hard he hits the ball."

Both the innings barely saw batters in the zone. It was bowler's day, and they only decided the match's fate. Gujarat has their next fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 27th April, while Kolkata Knight Riders will have a clash with Delhi Capitals on 28th April.