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A clinical cricketing approach by the batters and bowlers earned the Gujarat Titans a five-wicket win against the free-falling Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday night at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium.
GT skipper Shubman Gill carried the batting responsibilities on his shoulder but in a post-match interview with the broadcasters he confessed that the win should have been much easier than a last over finish. Gill’s 50-ball 86 carried GT close to the 181-run target, but a slight middle order wobble delayed the inevitable until the fourth ball of the last over. While the batters, particularly Gill, took them past the chequered flag, it was the bowlers who had put them in the fast lane with their clinical bowling in the Powerplay and the last five overs.
Ajinkya Rahane
GT’s pace duo of Kagiso Rabada (3-29) and Mohammed Siraj (2-23) bowled six overs (three apiece) in the Powerplay with KKR losing three wickets for 37. “The decision [to bowl three overs each between Siraj and Rabada] was taken after summarising how we feel the wicket is going to play”, Rabada explained in the post-match media interaction.
Personally, Rabada seemed to have enjoyed bowling on a red-soil track that had a bit of moisture at the start, giving seam movement to both the pacers in Powerplay. “Extra bounce has probably been my ally throughout my entire career,” Rabada told reporters. “On pitches that have a bit more bounce, you’re looking at that favouring my strength a bit more,” explained the South African seamer.
“And then moving on to the middle and death overs, it’s just about executing a game plan that we feel is going to work based on what we’ve adapted or pre-planned the ones to,” Rabada said in reference to choking the KKR batters in the death overs.
While the GT bowlers won the Powerplay and death overs battle, KKR pacers struggled to contain Gujarat’s openers, particularly Gill, who was playing bookish shots. “I thought he [Gill] batted really well. Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill batted beautifully,” Rahane stressed.
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