KKR VS GT MATCH-39 IPL23
GUJARAT TITANS WON BY 7 WICKETS
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
179/7
GUJARAT TITANS
180/3
LOCATION – Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Gujarat Titans defeated Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens by a margin of seven wickets to maintain their unblemished road record. The Gujarat Titans won the toss and decided to bowl, therefore we had a delayed start because to the damp outfield. The Gujarat Titans pulled back the momentum in the middle thanks to some excellent bowling by Joshua Little, but the birthday boy Andre Russell powered Kolkata in the death to end the innings on 179. The Knights from Eden got off to a quick start in the Powerplay scoring at more than 10 rpo after fireworks from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored his second IPL fifty in the process. The Kolkata spinners pulled things back in the middle and increased the needed run rate to more than 11 rpo, but a finishing masterclass from Vijay Shankar and David Miller ensured that the Gujarat Titans got across the finish line with 13 balls to spare and moved to the top of the table. In the chase, Shubman Gill gave Gujarat a good start falling just 1 run short of his half-century.
The player of the game is Joshua Little.
“I just spoke to Hardik before play, just wanted to keep things simple, bowl the hard lengths and I’m happy I could do that,” said Joshua Little, Player of the Match. It’s always nerve-wracking to play in the IPL’s opening game, but I feel comfortable now. The key was to keep things straightforward, hammer the back of the length, and let the ball speak for itself.