IPL 2023 Live Blog | GT vs KKR, Match 13 | Tweets, Videos and More
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This game was gone. It was gone by all means. But Rinku pulled it back from the jaw of loss. Five maximums off the last five deliveries. After Rashid Khan's hattrick, the game was literally in Gujarat's back pocket but Rinku's blinder won it for KKR. But you need to feel for poor Yash Dayal.
I am Arjun Bhalla signing off on the behalf my colleague Anurag Dasgupta. But do join us as we shift to SRH vs PBKS' live blog.
MAXIMUMMMMMMM YET AGAINNNNNNNNN!!! LORD RINKU, WOWWWWWWWWW! Four required now. Win or loss, Rinku has been the hero here.
Rinku is not letting it go. SMASHES A MAXIMUM OVER EXTRA OVER!!! ANOTHER ONE MAN. THE GAME ISN'T OVER BY ANY MEANS!!! THREE IN A ROW. 10 needed off 2 balls now.
Umesh lends the strike back to Rinku. 28 runs needed off the last five balls. RINKU vs YASH DAYAL NOW.
Rinku Singh finally connects one, he goes down town for a maximum and follows up with a boundary. KKR need 29 runs off the last over. Can a miracle save them?
Little to bowl the penultimate over. KKR are still mathematically in the game, but the train has already passed for them.
Shami comes to bowl the last over of his spell. Can he clean up the tail or at least bag one remaining wickets of KKR?
First hattrick of the IPL 2023. Rashid Khan has done it. First Russell, then Narine and now Shardul Thakur. KKR have reviewed it, but that seems like a goner to me. And the third umpire agrees with him here.
Huge moment in the game. Russell goes cheaply yet again. Rashid Khan has taken with on a nothing delivery. It was a short delivery that was rushing down the leg, Dre Russ tried pulling it but misses it on the thigh, and keeper takes it. Nothing from the umpire and GT review it. And the replays tell that Russell edged it onto the thigh pad before the keeper took it. AND NARINE IS ALSO GONE HERE!!
Arjun: Having said that, it's the perfect situation for Dre Russ. And he is in the middle with KKR needing 50 off the last four overs.
Alzarri does it!!! AND MY COLLEAGUE, AKSHAYA (his biggest fan that I know), CELEBRATES IN VIRAT KOHLI STYLE!!! Venky Iyer has to walk back. Iyer is finally prompted to play on the front foot where he is not at his best at the moment and lofts it straight to Gill at long on. A brilliant knock has brought KKR in a position where they can smell a win.
Venky Iyer, you beauty!! He is standing between Gujarat Titans and loss here in Ahmedabad. A four and a maximum off Josh Little, and the southpaw goes to 70. But he has pulled something here. He's struggling with his left thigh. Physio comes out, and the umpires call it breaks.
Btw, if you have missed a banger of an interview ft. Venkatesh Iyer, OneCricket has got your covered.
KKR just served the live blogger's curse. A wicket against the run of play. Alzarri Joseph turns the tied. Rana looks to drive and chips it straight to mid-off. Shami makes no mistake as Rana departs here. A slight break in play works for Gujarat here as the skipper departs for 45.
100-run partnership between Venky Iyer and Rana. KKR still need 77 off 42 balls.
Arjun: Are we seeing KKR's surreal rise under the new leadership of Nitish Rana and Chandrakant Pandit? The answer is indeed we are, says my colleague Akshaya.
Venky Iyer isn't letting things go. He's keeping KKR in the chase. Scores a fifty! He has middled 100% of his strokes in this innings as per a stat on the broadcast! Surreal performance from the impact player. And he isn't stopping here!
Time for some leg spin. Rashid Khan comes into the attack. He will be trying to lead the side from the front.
The KKR skipper goes berserk, spanks a 91 METERE maximum off Alzarri Joseph. And he ends the over with another biggie, Rana makes room for this and then slashes him over backward point.
A four and a maximum, Venky Iyer has welcomed Dayal with some bashing.
Yash Dayal comes into the attack after the powerplay. KKR after six were at 41-2.
Another breakthrough for the Titans here. Narayan Jagadeesan fails to do much in his KKR debut match. Little does him. Jagadeesan tries to take advantage of this poor delivery as he goes at it with a delightful flick shot. But only manages to toe end it aerially towards deep square leg where Manohar gobbles a good catch. KKR are two down at 28.
Ventakesh Iyer comes in Impact Player for KKR, replacing Suyash Sharma.
First wicket down!!! Shami tests Gurbaz with a shorter-pitch delivery, and the batter gets fouled in the strike as he miscues the pull. He gloves it down between the keeper and short fine leg, and Yash Dayal there swallows it. It could have been a collision between KS Bharat (the keeper) and Dayal but in the end, there are all smiling faces as GT have drawn the first blood.
Shami's second over with a Gurbaz pull stroke through the mid wicket carpet...
Arjun: Shami got enough movement off the deck in his first over. Let's see how the Impact Player Josh Little will bowl from the other end. Andddddd as soon as I write that, he goes for a boundary. Now a maximum over the bowler's head, 'Gurbaz maar raha hai.'
Aaaand time for the KKR chase!
Rahmanullah Gurbaz can be seen paddinbg up.
DG: End of the Gujarat Titans innings and they have finished on 204/4. A standing ovation for Vijay Shankar who has made a mockery of this KKR attack. Take a bow! Useful contributions by Gill and Sai Sudharsan has given KKR a big headache. They need to up their ante with the bat, especially their fragile top-order.
Vijay Shankar, you beauty! What an innings here! Fifty up for the all-rounder
A redemption knock by Vijay Shankar. He has taken Shardul Thakur to the cleaners here. 6, 6, 6. 18 runs and the over is not finished yet.
DG: Vijay Shankar is turning the game on its head. A match-defining knock here. He is providing the finishing touches to this GT innings.
Sai Sudharsan departs! Narine gets his third wicket of the afternoon
Just when Sudharsan was going hammers and tong, Narine gets the big fish trapped. Short delivery, outside the off. Sudharsan smashes it hard, but the ball goes straight into the bucket hands of the man at long off.
Fifty for Sudharsan! An innings of high-class by the southpaw!
DG: For the third game running, Sai Sudharsan has shown his worth with the bat in hand. A special talent and the GT management have used him perfectly.
Back-to-back fifties for the southpaw. A very impressive knock against a quality bowling attack.
In case you missed it....
Arjun: David Miller should have come in place of Vijay Shankar. Ideal time for the Killer Miller show..
Suyash Sharma with a ripper!!! Manohar's brief cameo comes to an end
Googly on a good length and Manohar plays for the wrong line. The ball rips back in, to breach the defence. It kisses the back pad and hits the stumps. A pearler to dismiss the danger man. KKR are back in the contest. Manohar departs for 14 off 8.
Seems like Gurbaz has hurt himself. Play has been paused and the physio is out in the middle.
DG: Abhinav Manohar, the new man in. Plenty of overs left and plenty of time for Manohar to showcase his skills. He has decided to take on Umesh Yadav. 4,4, 6. Excellent batting by the youngster.
Shubman Gill is gone!!
Narine strikes once again! He tosses it up and entices Gill to go for the big shot. The batter gets the elevation, but couldn't get the distance as the fielder at long on moves to his right and gobbles up the catch.
DG: Minimum 200 runs should be on the board. Still plenty of power-hitters left. There is Miller, there is the greatest finisher in Tewatia. Anything less than 200 is a crime at this stage.
Arjun: My friend, DG, with 9 overs to go after this and 9 wickets in hand, what should be the score GT will look to target?
DG: 50 partnership up between Sudharsan and Gill. KKR need wickets and they need it ASAP...
First maximum of the game! Came at the hands of Sai Sudharsan!
Tossed up ball by Chakravarthy and Sudharsan hammers it well over the long on fence. That went million miles in the air and should fetch a dozen to the batter.
This is how KKR fetched their first wicket!
Time for the strategic timeout!
GT are 68 for 1 inside 8 overs. Gill showing his class and Sai Sudharsan has joined the act as well. KKR need inroads after this mini-break.
Just sit wherever you are because Gill is up to something special!
Btw, with that boundary, Gill has also completed 2,000 runs in IPL. A heartiest congratulations to the stylish batter.
He is using his feet to perfection and is not allowing the spinners to settle in properly. Sees the length outside the off and bludgeons it over the cover fielder. Don't bother stopping it...
Classss from Shubman Gill!
He sees the length outside the off and dances down the track. Just uses the pace on the ball and caresses it past mid off region.
DG: Varun Chakravarthy from the other end. Smart move by Nitish Rana. Interesting to see how the batters tackle Narine and Chakravarthy.
Sai Sudharsan the next man in...
DG: Narine comes and Narine strikes. He continues from where he left in the last match. But credit should be given to Jagadeesan as well. Tossed up ball as Saha miscues the slog sweep and the ball goes high in the air. Jagadeesan at square leg parries back, keeps his eyes on the ball and dives up-front to grab a stunner!
Spin for the first time! Here comes Sunil Narine....
DG: Ferguson clicks 150 km/h and that races away to the boundary ropes. Fast and furious, but not the result Ferguson wanted. Saha at his imperial best.
DG: Here comes Arjun's favourite bowler. Lockiiie Fergussoooon!
Saha goes up and over!
Length outside the off stump and Saha lofts it nonchalantly over extra covers. Easy as you like!
Ajay: KKR seamers have only picked up 4 wickets in the two matches so far. The majority of the work has been done by the spinners. Time for the pacers to step up...
DG: Shardul hasn't hit his stride. Still struggling for line and length.
First boundary of the innings!
Not very convincing from Saha, but he'll take it. Short-pitched ball and the batter was late on his pull shot. The top-edge flies over the keepers' head.
Lord Shardul from the other end. Wicket incoming?
DG: Judging by the first four deliveries, the track does have good bounce and the pacers will enjoy the initial burst.
Here's the playing XI
AAAAND IT's Time FOR SOME ACTION!!
The players and the two umpires have made their way out. Get ready folks, we are in for a run-feast. Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill have come out to bat. As expected, Umesh Yadav to kick-
Just 4 minutes left for the start of action. The excitement level is getting stronger. Can KKR end GT's unbeaten run?
Arjun: Good wicket to bat on, and I expect the Titans to reach the 180-run mark. They are a terrific chasing side, so it'll be interesting to see how they defend here.
DG: 10 minutes left for the start of play. What's the score GT will be eyeing, Arjun?
Here's what happened at the toss
DG: Despite the win against RCB in their last match, KKR still have plenty to ponder. The batting order, barring Rahmanullah Gurbaz failed to deliver the goods, and they need to come alive against a quality GT bowling attack
DG: The absence of Hardik Pandya is a big loss for the defending champions. It's a big tournament and perhaps GT want to preserve their all-rounder/captain. But don't worry GT fans, Rashid Khan is an experienced customer and is a shrewd leader as well. Interesting to see how he leads the team.
Toss Time........
Two changes for KKR - Lockier Ferguson comes in place of Tim Southee, and finally, Narayan Jagadeesan gets a nod ahead of Mandeep Singh.
Vijay Shankar comes in place of Hardik Pandya.
GT have won the toss and.....surprise, surprise, Rashid Khan has elected to bat first. Hardik Pandya has been rested. There must be some sort of a niggle.
Key Battles
-Andre Russell vs Mohammed Shami (in T20s): 35 Balls | 88 Runs | 1 Dismissal | Strike-Rate- 251.4 | 11 Sixes
-Shubman Gill vs Shardul Thakur (in IPL): 28 Balls | 30 Runs | 2 Dismissals
Pitch Report
Good for batting, the wicket will stay true to its nature. The dimensions are 65m, and 62m on the square side, and 73m straight down the ground. Teams will look to target the side boundaries. There are some patches on the surface which might help the spinners as well.
DG: 12 minutes remaining for the toss. Win the toss and...? Arjun your take?
Arjun: Win the toss and bowl first. This has been the trend in the shortest format of the game for a very long time now. The wicket will stay the same, so it's better to have a target in front of you.
GT have won both their matches, and will be looking for a hat-trick. Meanwhile, after losing their first game, KKR bounced back with a drubbing of RCB.
Both the teams have met just once in the IPL, and that dates back to the 2022 edition when GT triumphed over KKR. Will the fortunes change for the Nitish Rana side?
This is Anurag Dasgupta, and I'll be joined by Arjun Bhalla as we take you the journey of this incredible game that is about to come.
Matches are coming thick and fast in the ongoing Indian Premier League, and match number 13 features the defending champions, and one of the two unbeaten teams in the tournament, Gujarat Titans, up against the two-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders.
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