IPL 2022: GT beat KKR by 8 runs; Russell’s remarkable performance goes in vain

Gujarat Titans pulled off a thrilling win against Kolkata Knight Riders as they defeated the Kolkata side by 8 runs at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday. With this win, GT reclaimed the No. 1 spot on the IPL 2022 points table. 

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Needing 18 off the last over, Andre Russell hit a six off Alzarri Joseph in the first ball. But in the second delivery, the GT pacer dismissed the dangerous Russell as Lockie Ferguson grabbed a brilliant catch to dent KKR’s chance in the match. The pacer conceded just 9 runs to justify Hardik Pandya’s trend-breaking decision to bat first.

After winning the toss, captain Hardik
Pandya decided to bat first. His third fifty of the season was the lone saving grace in GT’s dismal show as they scored a below-par 156 for 9. 

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Captain’s knock by Hardik Pandya

Hardik scored 67 off 49 balls with four boundaries and two sixes in a slow-paced knock.

KKR bowled as
many as 43 dot balls and were brilliant at the death as they conceded only 29
runs and took as many as seven wickets in the final five overs. Russell notched up a similar figure last season as well.

Andre Russell got four wickets in the final over as Rinku Singh was a
livewire in the field with four catches. Russell bowled only one over in the match.

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While Shubman
Gill (5) was out early as Sam Billings collected a faint tickle down the
leg-side off Southee’s delivery, Wriddhiman Saha (25 off 25 balls), for the
second match in succession, piled on the pressure, consuming too many dot
balls.

However, an
early breakthrough didn’t stop Hardik from playing his natural, aggressive game
as there was no marks for guessing as to who dominated their 75-run stand for
second wicket stand.

David Miller (27
off 20 balls, 2×6), after a match-winning knock against CSK the other night,
gave his skipper some support in a 50-run third-wicket stand but there wasn’t a
lot of resistance from other batters.

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Pandya started
with a square cut off Southee and followed it up with a lofted drive over
covers to set the tone.

When Shivam Mavi
came into the attack, the GT captain used his pace to play the ramp shot for a six and
then came the classic cover drive as hardly a fielder moved from their
respective positions.

However, one
that was for the ages was the off-driven six 15 rows into the stands off a
Varun Chakravarthy delivery that was pitched on length. It was a “hold your
pose” kind of a shot.

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The scratchy
Saha did pull Umesh Yadav for a six and a four but wasted a lot of deliveries
at the onset which needed to be compensated by Pandya.

At the start of
the back-10, Saha got desperate and offered a dolly to Venkatesh Iyer at point
off Umesh, who came for his second spell.

Hardik hit
boundaries but also kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles. He
did hamstring in going for a quick single and was dismissed trying to hit his
way out of trouble.

Shami, Dayal, Rashid scalp a brace each

In reply to a modest 157 runs target, KKR lost openers Sam Billings and Sun Narine at the very onset of their innings. Mohammed Shami picked up both wickets. KKR were soon reduced to 34 for 4 as Yash Dayal dismissed Shreyas Iyer and Lockie Ferguson got the scalp of Nitish Rana.

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Rinku Singh provided some resistance scoring 35 before being dismissed by Dayal in the first ball of the 13th over. As KKR lost wickets in regular intervals, Russell showed hope by playing a 25-ball 48 runs innings. The all-rounder smashed six sixes and a four but his dismissal in the last over by Alzarri Joseph turned out to be the game-changer in a rather low scoring game. 

This was KKR’s fifth defeat in 8 matches. They are now placed 7th on the points table.