IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, Match 39 - Who Said What?

Match 39 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) went in favour of the visitors by 39 runs at Eden Gardens, on Monday, April 21. Notably, GT claimed their sixth victory of the season.

Captain Shubman Gill top-scored with a brilliant 90-run knock off 55 deliveries. He put on a superlative 114-run opening stand with Sai Sudharsan, who registered 52 off 36 himself. Jos Buttler's late surge at the end (41 off 23) powered GT to 198 for 3 at the end of 20 overs. Varun Chakravarthy proved to be the most economical bowler (0 for 33 in four overs).

Both of KKR's openers were back in the shed within the powerplay. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane did get to a half-century, but none of the other batters came to the fore. KKR's Impact Player, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, coming in at No. 9, ended up as the second-highest scorer. Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan starred with a couple of wickets in their respective four-over spells.

Talking Points

1. Sai Sudharsan's purple patch continues

The talented left-handed batter looked in sensational touch yet again. This fifty was his fifth in eight innings this season. His well-paced knock comprised six fours and one six.

2. Rahul Tewatia's rough run with the bat continues

Despite being promoted up the order (No. 4), Rahul Tewatia's stay at the crease was only for a couple of balls. He was dismissed for a duck. This innings marked Tewatia's fourth single-digit score in IPL 2025.

3. Andre Russell fails to make impact with the bat

Coming in at a position where KKR were in desperate need of some fireworks, Andre Russell could only manage 21 off 15 deliveries. A lot more was expected from the seasoned batting all-rounder.

4. Prasidh Krishna rises to the occasion

Prasidh, this time playing against his former franchise, bowled a wonderfully economical spell to completely curb the opposition batting unit. His tidy quota comprised a total of 12 dot balls.

Who Said What?

Shubman Gill (winning captain and Player of the Match)

Very pleased. We spoke about these two matches - that they're going to decide where we stand on the table. Very pleased to get these two wins back to back. We just want to play our best game whenever we're out there. We never talk about that one of us has to stay till the end. We just talk about how we can score runs in these conditions and how to take the game deep. We were ahead in the game, but it's one thing to be ahead and another to close the game. So, that was just some of my emotions coming out (talking about his animated celebration after Venky Iyer's wicket). In this format, it's difficult to have a perfect game. There will always be some areas. LIke today as well - we could've got 10 runs more had I stayed there. And a couple of unforced errors in the bowling. But the main thing is even if you're not playing the perfect game, you've to find a way to win, and that's what we're really good at.

Ajinkya Rahane (losing captain)

I thought 199 was chaseable, we came back into the game really well with the ball. When you are chasing 199, you expect a good opening start with the batters, that's where we are struggling throughout this tournament. I thought 199 was chaseable on this wicket, we bowled really well, we faltered with our batting. We need to learn as quickly as possible and keep going. It was little slow, but we thought if we get them below 200, it'll be really good. We know these conditions really well, we need to bat properly, we need to bat well in the middle overs, that's where we are struggling. When you're chasing a big target, you expect a good start from the opening batters. That's what we are looking to get better, as a batting unit, no complains with our bowlers. Bowlers are doing a really good job game after game. Fielding is a part I always believe we can control as a team. If you can save 10-15 runs on the field, that's always better for the team. It's always about intent and attitude, you got to be switched on throughout the 20 overs, that's where we are lacking in. But the guys are working hard. This format is always about being brave. You can't think too much about the past. You need to learn from your mistakes. Whenever you're doing well, look for improvement. If you're not doing well, even if we get 1% better as a team, that's very important. As a batting unit, you got to be brave, take the chances and take the positive mindset. If you think about getting out, you'll get out. If you think about getting runs, it's always about that. I am sure our batters are thinking about it. It's just a matter of time, we've got quality batters in the middle-order and I back them completely. Angkrish has been batting really well. Today, we pushed the other boys to get the run-rate going up.