Kolkata Knight Riders defeated the Gujarat Titans by three wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad...
Digital Desk: Kolkata Knight Riders defeated the Gujarat Titans by three wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Rinku Singh was the hero for his team, blasting 5 sixes in the final over when the team needed 29 off 6 balls to win. The game fluctuated one way and the other until the last ball of the match, when Singh displayed amazing control while under pressure to place the final ball of the over for the maximum score and the match for his side.
Earlier, the Gujarat Titans asked the Kolkata Knight Riders to field first in the first match of the doubleheader on Sunday. However, they ultimately gave up 204/4 in their 20 overs, with Sai Sudharsan (53 off 38) keeping the GT innings alive before Vijay Shankar, who substituted for unwell Hardik Pandya in the Playing 11, struck 63 runs off 24 balls to take Gujarat past 200.
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In the run-chase, Kolkata was right in it a courtesy to their Hit Player Venkatesh Iyer, who struck 83 off 40 balls. But when the squad lost Iyer during a key part of the game, the game appeared to have gotten away from them. In the next few deliveries, GT's stand-in captain, who had earlier scored a few runs, claimed a hat-trick, eliminating Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, and Shardul Thakur in quick succession to give Gujarat the lead.
Even though a Gujarat victory seemed certain at this point, Rinku was still seeking for a victory. Gujarat entrusted Yash Dayal with the final over, and with 29 needed off 6 balls when the left-handed batsman hammered the first of the five sixes, even the on-air commentator understood it might not come on a winning cause. Dayal couldn't find the appropriate length and was punished by a determined Rinku, who returned only after the team had triumphed, finishing with an unbeaten 48 off 21.
Rashid returned with statistics of 3/37 and Alzarri Joseph with 2 for 27, but Dayal would like to forget this night as quickly as possible after going wicketless in four overs and conceding 69 runs.
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