IPL 2023: Social media in awe of Vijay Shankar as GT avenges Ahmedabad loss to KKR by 7 wickets
IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans conquered Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets on Saturday in Kolkata, avenging the heart-breaking defeat in Ahmedabad. Vijay Shankar's late brisk made the fans go crazy.
FollowIt was a sweet win for defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) by seven wickets against former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 39 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. The visitors avenged the heart-breaking defeat against the hosts in the last leg in Ahmedabad, where Rinku Singh had played a blinder in the final over. At the same time, here, Vijay Shankar's late brisk raised everyone's eyebrows.
Winning the coin toss, GT opted to bowl while the meeting was off to a delayed start due to rain. KKR began on a swift but jittery note, losing a couple for 47 by the fifth over of the PowerPlay (PP). However, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (81) and Venkatesh Iyer (11) added 37 for the third wicket before the latter was trapped leg-before by pacer Joshua Little in the 11th.
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While Kolkata was down to 88/4 by the same over, Gurbaz and Rinku Singh (19) took charge and contributed 47 for the fifth, while the former also brought up his second IPL half-century before falling to chinaman Noor Ahmad in the 16th. Thereon, KKR struggled to get a decent stand going and finished on an above-par score of 179/7.
For Gujarat, veteran seamer Mohammed Shami captured three, whereas Ahmad was economical with two scalps. Before the Titans began their chase, they brought young opener Shubman Gill, while the Knight Riders brought in leg-spinner Suyash Sharma. The visitors started positively before losing their opening wicket in Wriddhiman Saha (10) in the fifth over of the PP with 41 on the board.
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However, GT barely panicked as Gill (49) and skipper Hardik Pandya (26) added 50 for the second wicket before pacer Harshit Rana dismissed the latter in the 11th. At the same time, at 93 in the following over, Gill fell a run short of his 18th IPL half-century to mystery spinner Sunil Narine.
Yet, Shankar (51*) and David Miller (32*) took control of the remainder of the chase thereon, with the former going berserk in the closing stages of the hunt and handing Gujarat a seven-wicket triumph, with 13 balls to spare. KKR, Rana, pacer Andre Russell and Narine grabbed one each for the hosts, whereas the latter was economical.
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