Sunil Narine takes wicket on KKR debut, GT chase KKR's 247

Sunil Narine to Nishant Sindhu, OUT! CAUGHT! Sunil Narine strikes with his first ball in his 200th IPL game for the Knight Riders. Begins with a off-break, flighted delivery, on off. Nishant Sindhu extends his hands into the lofted hit but he gets no elevation whatsoever. Hits it flat and straight down the throat of long off, where Manish Pandey gets low and takes the catch around his knees.

4

Overs3.6

Score49 - 0

Matheesha Pathirana to Shubman Gill, FOUR! 7 runs off the over, not a bad comeback over for Matheesha Pathirana. Slips in a full ball, outside off. Gill transfers the weight onto the front foot as he leans forward and drives it between mid off and cover for a boundary.

1

Overs3.3

Score44 - 0

Matheesha Pathirana to Nishant Sindhu, Good change-up from Pathirana. At 142.9 kph, a bumper, over middle. Nishant Sindhu is taken by surprise and he takes his eyes off while attempting the pull. It goes aerially off the upper half of the blade but drops safely behind square leg. They cross.

Sai Sudharsan has copped a blow on his left elbow. He somehow manages to complete the run and goes down in pain at the bowling end. The physio rushes out to check him up. An ice pack is being applied to the bruised area now. Gill walks up to Sai to have a chat, who is grimacing in pain. A few KKR players also converge with concerned faces. And oh, Sai Sudharsan is walking off the field being retired hurt, accompanied by the physio who keeps applying the icepack. Okay. Not Buttler, but Nishant Sindhu is the new batter in for GT. Also, on his KKR debut, Matheesha Pathirana is into the attack now.

1lb

Overs2.6

Score42 - 0

Kartik Tyagi to Sai Sudharsan, Ouch, Sai is in agonising pain. Too straight again by Tyagi, at the hips, on a back of a length. Sudharsan pivots on the back foot to swing it away with the angle. The ball pings Sai on the left elbow and the southpaw loses his balance. He loses his bat as it drops in front of the stumps. Sudharsan gets back up on his feet and manages to complete the leg bye as the ball rolls behind square leg.

0

Overs2.5

Score41 - 0

Kartik Tyagi to Sai Sudharsan, Missed out! Tyagi drifts down leg, fractionally short. Sai swivels to get it away but is late in doing so. Gets it more off the gloves and he can't beat Varun Chakaravarthy at short fine leg.

0

Overs2.4

Score41 - 0

Kartik Tyagi to Sai Sudharsan, Beaten! Tyagi switches to around the wicket and angles it in, on the off stump, on a back of a length. Sai looks to play the line of the ball but the ball nips away enough to go past the outside edge.

6

Overs2.2

Score37 - 0

Kartik Tyagi to Sai Sudharsan, SIX! Just over! A heart-in-mouth moment for Sai. A well-directed short ball by Tyagi, right at the helmet of the batter. Sudharsan swivels and is rushed on the pull. The ball also catches him high on the bat. Matheesha Pathirana at deep backward square leg leaps and sticks out both hands over his head, but the ball sails over his head.

1

Overs1.6

Score27 - 0

Cameron Green to Sai Sudharsan, From around the wicket to the left-hander. Very full, outside off. Sudharsan looks to squeeze it away on the off side. Gets an inside edge as the ball rolls to short fine leg. Single taken.

6

Overs1.4

Score25 - 0

Cameron Green to Shubman Gill, SIX! Up and away! Green bashes the surface, over middle. Gill dances down the track and gives himself room to go through the off side. He slaps it over cover and clears the fence to get going.

0

Overs1.3

Score19 - 0

Cameron Green to Shubman Gill, A ripper from Green! Half a shout for caught behind from Angkrish Raghuvanshi before he bails out. Green hits the deck hard and gets the ball to jag back in off the deck. This is on a back of a length, on middle. Shubman hangs back to deal with it but is cut in half due to the seam movement and the ball bounces over the sticks. A good diving take to his left by the keeper.

0

Overs0.6

Score15 - 0

Saurabh Dubey to Sai Sudharsan, Beaten! Closer to the off stump, on a short of a length. A bit too close for the cut but Sudharsan still goes for it. The ball kicks up and goes over the blade. Three dots to start with, but the over ends up going for 15 runs.

4

Overs0.5

Score13 - 0

Saurabh Dubey to Sai Sudharsan, FOUR! Nicely done! In the channel, on a short of a length. Sudharsan lets the ball come to him and just uses the pace of the ball by steering it to deep third with an open bat face.

5wd

Overs0.5

Score9 - 0

Saurabh Dubey to Sai Sudharsan, FIVE WIDES! Wayward from Dubey. The ball tails back into the left-hander but it starts too straight. Landing on middle and leg, on a back of a length. Sai misses out on the tickle. The ball keeps drifting down leg and beats the diving Angkrish Raghuvanshi to his right.

4

Overs0.4

Score4 - 0

Saurabh Dubey to Sai Sudharsan, FOUR! Sudharsan and the Titans are on their way. Slanting in, on a good length, on middle. Sudharsan walks inside the line and brings his wrists into play. He clips it through square leg and the ball speeds away into the fence.

KKR to halt GT's charge? A win here will make a top-four finish a certainty for Gujarat Titans, but right now, Kolkata Knight Riders will be feeling really good about keeping their playoff hopes well on track. The Titans aren't generally known for big run chases, but they do have the batting to get the job done. However, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy would want to have a big say in the chase, and we might even see Matheesha Pathirana come on as an Impact Sub, further strengthening KKR's bowling. It should be an exciting watch, so stay tuned for the run chase.

Let's now hear from KKR's top-scorer tonight - Finn Allen admits that he got a bit lucky and just decided to carry on for as long as he could. Adds that the Eden Gardens is a beautiful ground to bat on, with short boundaries and usually a very good batting wicket. Feels it was a bit tricky early on before it got better as the innings went on. Speaking about Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Allen calls him a proper player and praises the quality of his batsmanship at such a young age. Finn shares that his focus tonight was on staying clear in his approach at the crease without overthinking. He also backs the bowlers to defend the total.

The Titans fumble big in the field - It all started with a simple chance going down from Mohammed Siraj, when Finn Allen was on just 33, and after that it seemed like a contagious disease as catches were spilled for fun and even the ground fielding wasn't up to the mark. With the ball, things started pretty decently in the first couple of overs and Siraj even got a wicket in the Powerplay. However, there was a complete lack of control in the middle overs and soon enough, the big hits started to take a toll on the bowlers, who served up far too many loose deliveries.

Raghuvanshi, the constant - An innings that saw plenty of big hitting, including a huge 93 from Finn Allen, but it was Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who once again proved that he is KKR's most-consistent performer with the bat this season. Raghuvanshi built a 95-run stand with Allen, where he played the second fiddle, but his strike rate was still up. And when Cameron Green came in and started to hit the ball cleanly, Raghuvanshi yet again tried to give as much strike to Green as possible. However, he just came alive at the death, finishing on an unbeaten 82 off just 44 balls. Green too struck a fiery half-century as KKR ended up with nearly 250 runs.

KKR pile on the runs - Kolkata Knight Riders have enjoyed a very positive output in the last few matches, and they have notched up 247 big runs on the board. The ball was really flying tonight, as the KKR batters hit as many as 22 sixes, as opposed to just 12 fours. For the Titans, it was a difficult outing with the ball and in the field, not quite what we have come to expect this season from them.

2

Overs19.6

Score247 - 2

Rashid Khan to Cameron Green, Overthrows, and that sums up GT's night in the field! Full in length, a leg break outside off. Green thumps it aerially to the left of the fielder at long off for a single. Sindhu's throw comes in to Rashid at the bowler's end, but the latter slips in the process of collecting the ball, and the overthrow sees the ball trickle away to backward square leg for another single. 12 runs off the final over. KKR FINISH ON 247/2!

0

Overs19.5

Score245 - 2

Rashid Khan to Cameron Green, Good review! Flatter through the air, on a length, and wide outside off. Green tries to whack it powerfully over the off side, but misses to do so. The on-field decision is wide but Rashid is not happy with it. GT have gone upstairs for a review. A couple of angles come up with the revised guideline and it shows that Green has shuffled before the ball was released from the bowler's hand. However, a huge chunk of the ball is clearly inside that revised guideline. So it's a fair delivery.