Gujarat Titans (GT) delivered a dominant all-round display to secure a 39-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), cementing their place at the top of the IPL 2025 standings with six wins from eight matches. After being asked to bat first, GT’s batters assessed the conditions smartly and paced their innings well, posting a strong total of 198 – thanks largely to a well-crafted 90 from skipper Shubman Gill. Chasing a challenging target, KKR were under pressure from the outset, and things quickly spiralled as GT’s bowlers executed their plans brilliantly to defend the total.
Chasing a big target, KKR needed a solid start from their openers—but it wasn’t to be. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, replacing Quinton de Kock, fell in the very first over as Mohammed Siraj trapped him in front of the stumps. Captain Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine tried to make the most of the Powerplay, playing a few aggressive shots to keep the scoreboard ticking.
With the pacers proving expensive early on, Gill turned to Rashid Khan—and the move paid off. Narine threw his wicket away just when KKR needed stability. Venkatesh Iyer walked in at No. 4 but never looked in rhythm. He and Rahane added 41 runs, but with Iyer struggling to rotate the strike, it felt like a wicket was just around the corner. Sai Kishore eventually outfoxed him in the 12th over.
Unlike their counterparts, GT’s spinners were precise and disciplined. Rashid and Sai Kishore applied the squeeze, drying up boundaries and allowing the required run rate to climb steadily. Although Rahane appeared to be timing the ball well, he couldn’t convert his fifty into a match-winning innings.
Once Rahane departed, stumped off Washington Sundar, the onus shifted to the middle order. Andre Russell landed a couple of blows but was undone by Rashid, stumped by Jos Buttler. From there, the asking rate soared beyond reach. Prasidh Krishna struck twice in the 17th over, crushing any hopes of a late KKR fightback.
Batting at No. 9, Angkrish Raghuvanshi entertained briefly with a quickfire 27 off 13 balls, but it was too little, too late. A string of dot balls throughout the innings proved costly for KKR, who never truly got ahead in the chase.
The Titans put together another solid batting performance, with their top order once again leading the charge. Gill took a cautious approach during the powerplay, while Sai Sudharsan found the boundary regularly, helping GT post 45 runs in the first six overs.
After the powerplay, Gill shifted gears, accelerating the scoring as the duo kept the scoreboard ticking with smart rotation of strike and timely boundaries. KKR struggled to apply pressure or slow down the run rate, allowing both openers to settle in comfortably.
Gill and Sudharsan reached their fifties in the 11th over and brought up their second century stand of the season. Despite the slow nature of the pitch, they kept the run rate healthy without taking unnecessary risks and denied the KKR spinners any control. As the stand stretched, Rahane turned to Russell in search of a breakthrough.
Russell delivered immediately, removing Sudharsan in his first over. Buttler then walked in with intent, hammering three boundaries in quick succession. Gill, meanwhile, fell just short of a century, dismissed for 90. Although Harshit Rana bowled a tidy penultimate over, Vaibhav Arora conceded 18 runs in the final one, pushing GT’s total close to 200.
The surface offered help to both seamers and spinners, but KKR’s bowlers missed their marks too often. That said, the GT batters played with composure and control. KKR also didn’t help their cause in the field, with a few misfields and two dropped catches off Buttler’s bat proving costly.