IPL 2022 | Russ' all-round effort in vain as GT defend 156 against KKR

A sensational bowling effort from Gujarat Titans has helped them defend 156 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday (April 23) evening. Defending a sub-par total of 157, the Titans knew that they had to strike early in the powerplay, and that's exactly what they did, courtesy of their pace battery.

Shami dished out a brilliant display of hostile short-pitch bowling and dismissed Sam Billings and Sunil Narine cheaply before Yash Dayal. Lockie Ferguson did the same to Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana, leaving KKR in tatters at 34/4 in 6.1 overs.

Rinku Singh (35 off 28 deliveries) and Venkatesh Iyer (17 off 17 deliveries) added 45 runs for the fifth wicket before the former fell tamely to Dayal.

The young left-arm pacer could have had Andre Russell too when he got the KKR swashbuckler to miscue an attempted pull to fine-leg, but it turned out to be a no-ball.

Russell made him play as he smoked him for a couple of sixes to keep KKR in the hunt.

Rashid Khan, meanwhile, removed Venkatesh and Mavi in his next two overs, leaving Russell to do the heavy lifting in the last few overs.

With 37 needed in the last three, the Jamaican found a perfect partner in Umesh, who clubbed Lockie for a six. Russell, then, hammered a maximum in the next over bowled by Dayal, but it still went for just 11 runs as the left-handed seamer showcased a brilliant display of blockhole bowling.

It eventually boiled down to 18 off the last six deliveries, when Russell clobbered Alzarri for a six on the first delivery, it looked like the match was going only one way.

However, Ferguson sent Russell packing courtesy of a sensational catch at deep fine-leg after the West Indian tried to do an encore via a pull shot.

And it proved to be a match-winning catch as Yadav and Southee couldn't get the job done, eventually finishing 8 runs short.

Hardik spearheads GT before a late collapse restricted them to 156/9

Earlier today, Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and much to the surprise of everyone, the seam-bowling all-rounder became the first captain in IPL 2022 to opt to bat first.

It proved to be a poor start for the Titans as Shubman Gill fell in the softest manner possible to Tim Southee in the 2nd over for a 5-ball 7. In an attempt to flick a vast leg-side delivery from Southee, Gill managed to get a faint edge to Sam Billings, a simple catch.

Hardik promoted himself to the No.3 spot, and the move paid off as the all-rounder registered his third fifty. The hard-hitting batter played some exquisite strokes during his 49-ball 67 and was particularly severe against the likes of Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy.

The GT leader added 75 runs in the next 9.2 overs with Wriddhiman Saha (25 off 25 deliveries) before the latter fell following an unsuccessful attempt to ramp Umesh Yadav.

Hardik and David Miller (27 off 20 deliveries) didn't let KKR's spin duo of Varun and Sunil Narine settle and peeled off 50 runs between them in the next 5.5 overs.

While Varun ended up with figures of 0/26 in 3 overs, Narine conceded 31 in his 4 - his most expensive tally this season.

At 133/2 in 16.2 overs and with Hardik and Miller looking well set, Gujarat was on course for a 180+ total. However, an epic collapse saw them lose their last 7 wickets for 23 runs as they finished with an underwhelming 156-9.

The slide started with Hardik holing out in the deep while trying to pull a slow delivery from Southee (3/24 in 4 overs) and peaked in the last over when the GT batters kept pulling Andre Russell's cutters straight Rinku Singh at deep mid-wicket. Russell finished with four wickets in the previous over, one of which came via a brilliant returned catch.

Brief Scores:

Gujarat Titans - 156/9 in 20 overs

Hardik Pandya 67 (49);

Andre Russell 4/5 (1), Tim Southee 3/24 (4)

Kolkata Knight Riders - 148/8 in 20 overs

Andre Russell 48 (25), Rinku Singh 35 (28);

Mohammed Shami 2/20 (4), Rashid Khan 2/22 (4)

Gujarat Titans won by 8 runs.