 "KKR vs GT: How Rashid Khan sealed Gujarat Titans' triumph at the Eden Gardens in a space of three overs")
Kolkata Knight Riders made their job of defending their Indian Premier League title all the more tricky after getting outplayed by Gujarat Titans at their own backyard on Monday. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side suffered a 39-run loss against Shubman Gill's side exactly a month after they began their campaign with a resounding seven-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, also at the Eden Gardens.
Shubman Gill-led Titans consolidated themselves at the top of the points table after collecting their sixth victory in eight outings, and are currently in pole position for a place in the playoffs. KKR, on the other hand, appeared to be getting their act together after crushing Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets at Chepauk.
The stunning loss against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur, however, appears to have had quite the effect on them as their body language against GT at home wasn’t anywhere close to what one would expect from a champion team. KKR, thus, suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, and are under pressure to return to winning ways with the second half of the season currently underway.
Rashid seals GT’s triumph in three overs
Half of the job was done by the GT top three, with Gill playing a captain’s knock of 90 in 55 balls and Sai Sudharsan (52) and Jos Buttler (41) chipping in with handy contributions to ensure the visitors finished within touching distance of the 200 mark.
Senior pacer Mohammed Siraj would then get rid of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, replacing Quinton de Kock at the top of the KKR order, in the very first over of the chase with a sharp in-swinging delivery to put the Titans in pole position for victory.
Captain Rahane, however, brought his team back on track with an attacking second-wicket partnership that took KKR to 42/1 at the end of five overs. Kolkata were slightly ahead of Gujarat at that point despite losing a wicket along the way, and the partnership surely would have had Gill slightly worried despite the tall score.
In came Rashid in the final over of the powerplay. The Afghan, considered the top spinner in the world in the shortest format, had looked slightly off colour this season before Monday’s game in Kolkata, having collected just four wickets in seven matches at an economy of 9.7.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAnd in his very first over on Monday evening, Rashid broke the second-wicket stand with Narine pulling a flat delivery straight to Rahul Tewatia at square leg.
Rashid gave away just three singles in his opening over along the way, and conceded another couple of them in his second. KKR’s score suddenly read 53/2 at the end of eight overs, with the run-rate dropping below seven-an-over.
In a chase of 200 or more, such a phase can often be a turning point in the game, especially since it starts building pressure which leads to a flurry of wickets later in the game. And that is exactly what happened with the Knight Riders, with Venkatesh Iyer and Rahane perishing in successive overs shortly after the halfway mark.
Rahane tried to shift gears with a four and a six in Washington Sundar’s second over, only to get stumped in the off-spinner’s next over after charging down the track, right after completing his fifty.
By the time Rashid was brought back for his third, KKR were left needing 85 to win from 30 with their hopes of a win quickly fading away. At the crease, however, were Andre Russell and Rinku Singh, and even if they didn’t get their team over the line, they could have ensured KKR finishing within touching distance in order to soften the blow on their Net Run Rate.
Box Office Verdict: Blockbuster! 🍿 pic.twitter.com/kYmbcw34i6
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) April 21, 2025
‘Dre Russ’ moved into the 20s in the third delivery of Rashid’s second spell, but found himself halfway down the track after missing a googly from the wily spinner, resulting in a second stumping for Buttler. KKR were reduced to 119/6 at the end of the 16th over with Rashid’s figures reading 2/10 from three at that point, the Afghan having finally produced his first defining performance with the ball this season.
Both Rashid and seamer Prasidh Krishna finished with identical figures of 4-0-25-2 at the end of the innings; while the leg-spinner didn’t quite conclude his spell on an ideal note by getting hit for 15 runs, the latter had a happy ending with a double-wicket over in the 17th.
However, there’s little doubt over who had the greater impact with the ball at Eden on the day.
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