Gujarat-defending champion Kolkata in IPL

Kolkata, India (AP) -The tabletop Gujarat Titans handed the defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders a 39 run in the Indian Premier League on Monday. Captain Shubman Gill made 90 out of 55 balls and his opening partner Sai Sudharsan scored his fifth 50-plus score of the season with 52 in Gujarat’s challenging total of 198-3. Kolkata was smothered by the Gujarat drivers for 159-8 and lost his third home game. “It’s very difficult to have a perfect game,” Gill said. “But you have to find a way to win the game, and that’s what we really are good at.” Kolkata’s chase was cut early when Mohammed Siraj Rahmanullah Gurbaz LBW pinned for just 1 in the Afghan opener’s first game of the season, and Rashid Khan rejected Sunil Narine of his third ball in the PowerPlay. Kolkata captain Ajinkya Rahane resisted with a 36-ball 50, as the middle order struggled to accelerate against the spinners in Gujarat’s sixth victory in eight games. Venkatesh Iyer struggled to make 19 balls to 14. His slogan against Sai Kishore’s left arm turn went straight to Washington Sundar with the deep middle pole. Rahane leaves in the next ear when he was bumped from Sundar’s broad ball and Kolkata’s chase was derailed in 13th place at 91-4. Gujarat Open Pair Gill and Sudharsan assessed the difficult surface perfectly with their occasional aggressiveness. Gill, who lost the throw, missed a century, but took the turn with the left Sudharsan. They combined for 114 runs, and Jos Buttler hit an unbeaten 41 out of 23 balls with eight boundaries. Gill and Sudharsan completed a half-century in almost identical style and hit a dozen boundaries and two sixes between them. Kolkata could only separate to 13th place. Sudharsan, who took 34 balls for his fifty, perished shortly afterwards when he cut Russell’s short ball and got a thin outside edge. Gill’s 33-Ball Half Cemetery included 29 runs from 12 balls. He was swinging Vaibhav Arora’s low full throw to Rinku Singh in the outfield in 18th place. Buttler was dropped early, but his flurry has a tight total closed. “I thought 199 was chased, we got into the game very well,” Rahane said. “You expect good opening to start, but that’s what we’re struggling with.” ___ first published: 22 Apr 2025, 12:12 am Ist