Shubman Gill leads with a sublime innings to leave Kolkata Knight Riders winless in the IPL 2026
KKR – 180 (Cameron Green 79 off 55 balls) lost to GT- 181/5 in 19.4 overs (Shubman Gill 86 off 50 balls) by 5 wickets
Man of the Match: Shubman Gill
GT managed to win the match against KKR by 5 wickets and only two balls remaining. They had restricted KKR to a manageable score by the halfway mark and were in control all through the chase, led by the sublime batting of Shubman Gill. The chase got slightly hairy when they started losing wickets late, but the better team eventually won. For KKR, the batting of Cameron Green was a positive, but with no wins in six matches, they are staring down the barrel.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat first, which was a slightly perplexing decision, with dew expected to come later in the evening. He said that the team wanted to bat freely and fearlessly, hence the decision. But in order to win, it was important that KKR bat big and put GT under immediate pressure. The intent from the captain was admirable, but it was to be seen if the team could back the bravado with deeds.
GT pacers run rings around KKR batting
Once the innings started, it was obvious that KKR were in for a difficult time. The ball seamed and swung, and the batsmen struggled to connect. First over from Siraj, Rahane tried to smash a slightly away swinging ball from the off side towards long on and managed to mishit badly to see the skier gobbled up by Rabada at mid-on. Tim Seifert coming in for Tim Allen, and Raghuvanshi tried to be aggressive and got a few attractive-looking boundaries, but second over, Rabada got a length ball to swing only slightly to take Raghuvanshi’s outside edge to the keeper, and KKR were 21/2. Siraj’s second over included some more swing and misses, with only 3 runs being scored. Next over, Seifert smashed a short, wide ball from Rabada directly to Glen Phillips. KKR were at 32/3 after 4 overs, and Rovman Powell joined Green inside the power play. Green was given out caught behind to a brute of a short ball from Siraj, but Green reviewed and was deemed not out by DRS. GT decided to continue with their opening bowlers till the end of powerplay, and with the number of plays and misses by the batsmen, KKR were actually lucky to be at 37/3 at the end of 6 overs and not 5 down.
KKR fightback and Green looking like a million bucks (finally)
The feeble powerplay score was not looking promising, but with Siraj and Rabada already having bowled 3 overs each, changes had to be made. There was no point in nudging and scraping to a 140 score, and Powell decided to open up. He started by going after Prasidh Krishna and hit a full ball high over the long on boundary for a six. Next, Ashok Sharma bowled a rapid 147 kmph short delivery, which was crunched over deep midwicket. At the other end, Green started to flail around and get a few boundaries flowing. It wasn’t the prettiest, but runs were starting to come. At one point, he was on 8 off 14 balls, but with Powell at the other end, he began to grow in confidence. In the 11th over, Ashok Sharma, who was bowling in the mid-140s, bowled a slower one at 107 kmph, and Powell, trying for another big hit, holed out to long on, where Siraj took a well-judged catch.
KKR were 87/4 in 11 overs, and surprisingly, Anukul Roy came in next. It seemed strange that Rinku Singh, averaging close to 60 in FC cricket, should be coming as low as number 7, that also for a batting lineup that has struggled so far in the tournament. If a batsman is not in form, the better option would be to replace him in the team rather than keep demoting him down the order. KKR’s thinking has been muddled right throughout the tournament, and this was another example of that.
With no other option remaining, Green started to break free. He immediately stepped out and hit a massive six off Rashid Khan over long on. Next ball, a shortish ball was smacked to deep square leg for a boundary. A fast and full ball from Ashok Sharma was hoicked over deep square leg for another huge six, and a wide ball later, he immediately picked the slower ball and stepped down the wicket to hit another monstrous six over deep midwicket. 50 was scored off 34 balls. 14th over from Rashid, first ball another six to deep midwicket. It was obvious that he preferred the leg side, most of the sixes coming between deep midwicket and deep square leg. Green was being ultra-aggressive now and was beaten neck and crop next ball as he ran down the pitch and was left stranded. A tiny edge meant that Buttler could not collect the ball, neither for a catch nor stumping, and the ball ran away to the boundary. Again, a mishit next ball was shelled by Washington Sundar near the deep midwicket boundary, which also rolled down the boundary for another four. Rashid’s first three overs had cost 43 runs. Prasidh bowled the 15th over and got rid of Anukul to a faint edge to the keeper, and KKR were 148/5 in 15 overs and in the ascendancy.
KKR falters at the death
At the end of 15 overs, Green was on 75 off 44 balls and would have been hoping to lead the final push for an above-par score. By the time the 19th over started, he had faced only one ball, and KKR were already 8 down. He was starved of the strike as wickets started to fall at the other end, everyone trying to go for the glory shots instead of returning the strike to the set batsman. An almighty swipe off Rabada got Rinku caught behind, Ramandeep holed out to long on to another Ashok slower ball, Narine kept on flashing and missing to short deliveries on the body, till he sliced a full ball to Phillips for a 5-ball duck. On the 19th over, Green, who was on strike on the first ball, took a single and on the next ball, ran out his partner Tyagi, trying to get the strike back. It was all very chaotic and indicative of confused thinking. Rashid came back last over and kept the ball on the off side to prevent Green’s scoring area. Only one run came off the bat, and Rashid had his revenge, getting Green caught behind the last ball of the innings. KKR finished on 180 and would have been quite disappointed with their death overs batting.
GT control the chase
GT started the chase confidently as both Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan played predominantly controlled shots that were pleasing to the eye. Gill, in particular, was breathtaking with his offside play. Two silken cover drives and a straight drive from Gill in the first two overs served as a tasty appetiser. Next over, Anukul Roy was lofted inside out for a six over extra cover. Sai Sudharsan too played some delightful shots on the leg side in the same over and collected a couple of sixes. The pair scored 57 in the first 5 overs and were taking the match beyond KKR when Narine bowled one to the leg side of Sudharsan, who, looking for room, hit the ball straight up towards backward short leg and had to return to the pavilion for a good-looking 22 off 16 balls.
Buttler, the next man in, did not waste any time and scored 14 runs off the next five balls, two beautiful shots on the off side and one off an inside edge, for GT to finish the powerplay at 71/1. He was quite aggressive in his approach and looked in much better form than before the IPL started, but mishit a Varun Chakravarthy delivery straight to long on and was dismissed for 25 off 15 balls. This was Varun’s first wicket this IPL, and he must have been relieved. The next batsman was Washington. He held one end up as Gill put on a show of controlled aggression. The offside and straight were his preferred areas, but a short-arm pull off a short ball from Tyagi for six was something else. He reached his 50 off 27 balls and continued to motor on.
GT stumbles but gets the job done
After the 14th over, GT were 139/2 and only 42 were required off 6 overs. A more aggressive team would have tried to slam the doors on their opponents, but GT, sometimes criticised for playing too safely, chose not to and could have gotten themselves in a bit of a pickle for that reason. Washington fell to a poor shot, as he played limply to a ball on the leg by Varun, to hit straight to the fine leg fielder and was out for a run a ball 13. Next man in was Glenn Phillips.
Varun’s over went for 5 and so did the next over, bowled by Anukul Roy. Vaibhav conceded 9, but got Gill, who went for a full wide ball and managed to hit towards third man, where Green took an absolutely brilliant catch, diving forward to a dipping ball. Gill scored 86 off 50 balls, but he would have been disappointed about the timing of his dismissal. Tewatia came in next, but could not find the big hits. Phillips got a couple of boundaries off Tyagi, and the equation was 5 runs in the last over.
Should have been comfortable, but Phillips got out early next over, top edging a pull. Shahrukh Khan came in as the impact sub, and he and Tewatia did the needful in twos and singles. GT finally won by 5 wickets with 2 balls remaining, not exactly dominating their opponents, but doing what was required, only just. But they will have to be mindful that this approach can get them in trouble later in the tournament. KKR, on the other hand, were left glum-faced with still no wins in the tournament. Their mind would definitely go back to the later stages of their own batting innings when they made a mess of things. A few more runs, and who knows what might have happened.