KKR vs GT

Right then, still no official Q next to any team in the points table. GT's 5-match winning streak has been broken and they only have one game left in the league stage, can they still make it to the top-2? KKR live to fight another day, they keep their campaign alive and still have 2 games in their hands to get to a maximum of 15 and then watch for the other results. Just two teams have been eliminated from the playoffs race, 8 still in contention with 10 games to go in the league phase. Each game is even more important now, tomorrow we will have two more huge games as it is a double-header Sunday. Make sure you join us then, for now this is Sourabh Agrawal signing off on behalf of Bala and the rest of the team. Cheers!

Sunil Narine is the Player of the Match for his spell of 2/29 on a night where 465 runs were scored in 40 overs, this is what the man playing his 200th IPL game had to say: It comes from hard work, all the guys have been working really hard and preparing well and it is showing. (on his role) It is all about planning what is in front of you. Every game brings a different challenge, try to win the scenarios and not to overthink. (playing 200 IPL games) Being a senior guy now, God has given me the health and talent, hopefully I play much more

Ajinkya Rahane (KKR captain): Very good game, really happy with two points. Tired, it was humid inside. Amazing to see Finn Allen, Angkrish and Cam Green's knocks. That partnership, the intent to pur pressure on the bowlers was amazing, the credit goes to them. 

The preperations have always been good. The talk has been about talking it one match at a time, we know the situatuion we are in and we want to be positive. It was an amazing performance from the bowling unit as well, new guy Saurabh Dubey, Kartik Tyagi, everybody bowled well

It is about trusting their ability, after their performance in domestic cricket which helps to carry the confidence. That is what helped me as well. Saurabh Dubey did well in the Vidarbha league, when he came in we could see that he had something different. Different height as well, he works really hard

(on Narine) Makes my job easy as a captain. Having Narine and Varun, he (Varun) was struggling with a sore foot but credits to him for carrying on

Angkrish Raghuvanshi (82* off 44 balls): "I think it was amazing (batting with Finn Allen). It got so easy for me. I just had to give him strike and watch from the other end. That was my role at the start, and it was amazing. I think I’m not used to the wicketkeeping duties. Taking everything out of me. I think the scoreboard says it all. I thought it was a great surface. Lovely. I hope we can play on these surfaces every year. They have to take me out of the nets. I hit a lot of balls. Ever since I was a kid. My coach, Abhishek Nayar, got me used to hitting a thousand balls a day.”

Shubman Gill hands the Orange Cap to his opening partner Sai Sudharsan and now has a chat: "Looking at the wicket, we thought 210-220 was a par score, but I think we dropped too many catches and, you know, when you drop three or four catches in a game, it’s never easy for the bowlers. The pitch was good. The odd one was stopping and sticking, but I felt we batted well to get to the score that we did. No concerns. But I think our fielding could have been a lot better. We set a certain standard and dropping three sitters in a game like this, I don’t think we deserved to win this one. If you look at it that way, best to have a game like this now. A 240-250 game, bowlers having an off day… better now rather than in the qualifiers. I think we’ll just recover for a couple of days, travel back to Ahmedabad, see how the wicket is and then plan accordingly.”

11:30 PM local time and IST: MATCH SUMMARY

Kolkata Knight Riders (247/2 in 20 overs) beat Gujarat Titans (218/4 in 20 overs) by 29 runs

Finn Allen 93(35) | Sunil Narine 2/29(4)
Shubman Gill 85(49) | R Sai Kishore 1/38(3)

KKR stay afloat, their campaign is still hanging by a thread as they hand GT a first defeat in 6 games. The last time GT lost was 22 days ago and it is the men in purple who have halted their winning streak on home soil whilist keeping their slim chances alive

Hugs all around in the purple camp, they have been comprehensive tonight on an absolute run fest which saw 465 runs scored in 40 overs with just 6 wickets falling across the 2 innings. KKR, as a result, move up to number 7 in the points table while GT stay put at the second spot but the maximum they can now get is to 18 which might or might not get them into the top-2 spot that they are eyeing

On a night were catches were dropped aplenty, the six-hitting abilities of the two sides in the end proved to be the difference. KKR smashed 22 sixes in their 20 overs while GT could only manage 12, 12 fours for KKR as opposed to GT's 16

It is hard to pinpoint shortcomings for a team that scores 218/4 but in a run chase where the strike rate needed to be 240 from the get go, Gill and Buttler batted a combined of 84 balls and scored (70% of the innings) scoring 142 runs at a strike rate of 169

Sai Sudharsan got off to a flier in the powwerplay but the momentum was broken by a blow that he copped on his left elbow in the 4th over off the bowling off Pathirana and as a result had to retire hurt. After the completion of that over, Pathirana himself had to walk off the field with a left hamstring injury bowling just 8 balls on his KKR debut. Things slowed down from there on for GT, they could only get 56/1 in the powerplay

Sindhu walked out to bat ahead of Buttler, surprisingly, he could not make an impact and even though Gill and Buttler added 128 runs for the second wicket it was just not quick enough in respect to what was needed on the night. Sudharsan did walk out towards the end after the partneship was broken, another surprising decision with the asking rate at almost 20 with three and a bit overs to spare GT held back their impact sub Tewatia and even Holder who can hit a big ball

Having said all of that, KKR were better with the ball too. Narine was at his absolute best again, 2/29 in 4 overs going at 7.25 on a night where the run rate was over 11 on a whole

19.6 Cameron Green to Rahul Tewatia, OUT! Slower ball into the surface. Tewatia moves right across the stumps trying to ramp it. Only gets a glove through to the keeper. Comprehensive win in the end of the Knight Riders!

19.4 Cameron Green to Sai Sudharsan, SIX! Short of a length angling into the body. Gets inside the line of the ball and helps it along over fineleg

Massive applause from the KKR dugout for the youngster Saurabh Dubey who was just bowled a 5-run 19th over including the wicket of Buttler. Just the final rites remain now