Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 21: After their recent victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill shared insights into his and opening partner Sai Sudharsan's strategy, noting that they believed they could have scored an additional 10 runs during their innings.
Under Gill's leadership, GT extended their winning streak in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by defeating KKR by 39 runs at Eden Gardens, marking KKR's fifth defeat in their title defense.
In the post-match presentation, Gill expressed his satisfaction, stating, "We are very pleased. The discussions prior to these matches indicated they would be crucial for our standings, so we are happy with the outcomes. There was no specific conversation with Sai Sudharsan about one of us needing to bat until the end; our goal is to play our best and score as many runs as possible. We focus on batting deep."
He added, "While we were in a strong position, it's essential to finish the game effectively. Strong teams know how to close out matches. In this format, achieving a flawless game is challenging; perhaps if I had batted longer, we could have added 10 more runs. Nonetheless, finding a way to win is what we excel at."
In the match, KKR won the toss and chose to bowl first. A significant partnership of 114 runs between Sudharsan (52 runs off 36 balls, including six fours and a six) and Gill, who scored 90 runs off 55 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, laid a solid foundation for a formidable total. A subsequent 58-run partnership between Gill and Jos Buttler (41* off 23 balls, with eight fours) propelled GT to a total of 198/3 in their 20 overs.
For KKR, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, and Andre Russell each took one wicket.
During the chase, KKR struggled, with only their captain Ajinkya Rahane (50 runs off 36 balls, including five fours and a six) putting up a fight, as exceptional bowling performances from Prasidh Krishna (2/25) and Rashid Khan (2/25) restricted them to 159/8 by the end of their innings.
Gill was awarded the 'Player of the Match' for his impressive 90-run performance.
With this result, KKR has fallen to seventh place with three wins and five losses, while GT remains at the top with six victories and two defeats, accumulating 12 points.
