IPL 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, Match 39: Best memes from the game
Gujarat Titans defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets in Kolkata.
Gujarat Titans (GT) continued their winning run as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their second fixture in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, April 29. The defending champions defeated the hosts by seven wickets with 13 balls remaining. With this win, GT climbed to the top of the IPL 2023 points table with 12 points while KKR are placed seventh.
GT skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and invited the hosts to bat first. In the rain delayed match, the Knights posted a target of 180 runs in 20 overs, courtesy to a fiery half-century by Rahmanullah Gurbaz. For GT, Mohammed Shami produced a brilliant spell, claiming a three-wicket haul. Apart from the Indian pacer, Joshua Little and Noor Ahmad also performed well with the ball, grabbing two wickets each.
The visitors got off to a solid start as they found an early breakthrough with Shami dismissing opener Narayan Jagadeesan for just 19 runs in the third over. Shami struck again in the powerplay as he removed all-rounder Shardul Thakur for a duck with Mohit Sharma taking a brilliant running backward catch. Despite losing two wickets, Gurbaz continued his power-hitting as KKR were 61/2 in the powerplay.
In the 10th over, Gurbaz took a single off Little’s delivery and brought up his second half-century (50 off 27) in the ongoing season. The Irish bowler struck twice in the 11th over, dismissing Venkatesh Iyer and skipper Nitish Rana respectively. Noor Ahmad came for the attack and provided GT with a massive breakthrough as he dismissed the Afghan batter in the 16th over. Gurbaz scored 81 runs from just 39 deliveries, the highest individual score by an Afghan player. The 21-year-old batter's knock was studded with five boundaries and seven maximums.
Later, West Indies all-rounder Andre Russel, who featured in his 100th IPL match, also played a brilliant cameo as the home team scored 179/7 in 20 overs. Russell struck 34 runs off 19 deliveries, including two fours and three sixes.
In reply, openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha have provided GT with a steady start. However, Andre Russell provided KKR with their first breakthrough as he dismissed Saha for just 10 runs in the fifth over, with Harshit Rana taking a simple catch at the mid-wicket. After losing Saha's wicket, GT relied on Gill and Hardik for stable innings, and the visitors were 52/1 after six overs.
Harshit Rana picked his first wicket of the night as he removed the GT captain for 26 in the 11th over. Later, Sunil Narine provided KKR with a massive breakthrough as he removed Shubman Gill for 49. The young opener tried to go for a six but ends up giving a catch to Russell at the mid-wicket.
After losing three wickets, GT relied on David Miller (32* off 18) and Vijay Shankar (51* off 24). As Shankar smashed a six off Nitish Rana's delivery and brought up his fourth IPL half-century off just 24 balls, GT were almost close to winning the game. KKR bowlers failed to perform well with the ball as GT won the match by seven wickets with 13 balls to spare.
Here are the best memes from KKR vs GT match
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