Kolkata survive Gill scare: KKR crack GT code to keep playoff hopes breathing

NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes live with a 29-run triumph implicit Gujarat Titans successful the IPL 2026 lucifer astatine Eden Gardens connected Saturday, ending Gujarat’s five-match winning streak contempt a warring sound from skipper Shubman Gill.Chasing 248, Gujarat Titans finished connected 218 for 4 aft Kolkata’s bowlers held their nervus successful the decease overs.Gill led the pursuit with 85 disconnected 49 balls, hitting 5 fours and 7 sixes. Jos Buttler added 57 disconnected 35 balls, portion Sai Sudharsan returned aft retiring wounded to stay unbeaten connected 53 disconnected 28 deliveries.But Kolkata pulled the crippled backmost aft the dismissals of Gill and Buttler successful speedy succession. Sunil Narine played a cardinal relation with figures of 2 for 29.GT started powerfully arsenic Sudharsan and Gill added 42 runs successful the archetypal 3 overs. Sudharsan, however, retired wounded aft being deed connected the elbow. Nishant Sindhu replaced him but was dismissed cheaply by Narine, who was playing his 200th IPL match.Gill continued the attack, hitting boundaries and sixes against Narine, Anukul Roy and Varun Chakaravarthy. Buttler besides recovered bushed arsenic the concern kept Gujarat successful the chase.

Gill reached his 50 successful 33 balls and continued to people freely. Buttler brought up his half-century arsenic Gujarat reached 177 for 1 successful 16 overs, needing 71 runs from the past 4 overs.The lucifer changed erstwhile Narine dismissed Gill, caught by Anukul Roy astatine the boundary. Buttler past fell trying to accelerate, giving a drawback astatine long-off disconnected Saurabh Dubey.Sudharsan returned to implicit his innings and reached his fifty, but the people proved excessively much.

Rahul Tewatia was dismissed by Cameron Green precocious successful the innings arsenic KKR sealed the win.The triumph lifted Kolkata Knight Riders to seventh spot successful the points table, 2 points down fourth-placed Punjab Kings.Earlier, KKR posted 247 for 2 aft beardown batting performances from Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Green.Allen smashed 93 disconnected 35 balls to springiness Kolkata a accelerated start. Raghuvanshi past made an unbeaten 82 disconnected 44 deliveries, portion Green remained not retired connected 52 from 28 balls to instrumentality KKR adjacent to the 250-run mark.Kolkata were besides helped by Gujarat Titans’ mediocre fielding effort during the innings.