An upbeat Gujarat Titans beat a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 runs in match 35 of IPL 2022. The Shreyas Iyer led Kolkata team has not been able to win any matches since winning their first two games of the season.
Against the Titans, KKR were unable to chase down a modest total. Batting first, the Hardik Pandey led side put up a total of 156 runs in their 20 overs. The captain once again top scored for his team with a knock of 67. David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha and Rahul Tewatia also made significant contributions.
Andre Russell was KKR's best bowler on the day. Although he bowled just one over, Russell picked up four wickets for just five runs. Pat Cummins was benched for Tim Southee, who picked up three wickets.
But KKR batsmen were once again disappointed. Chasing only 157 to win, they managed 148 for 8 at the end of 20 overs. Russell was the lone warrior with the bat, scoring 48 at a strike rate of almost 200. But no other KKR batsman could deliver as the side eventually fell short of the target by 8 runs. bFor Gujarat, Mohammad Shami, Yash Dayal and Rashid Khan picked up two wickets each.
“The way we started in the power-play while chasing and even with the ball. We shouldn't have conceded that much in these conditions. I think 160-165 was a decent score and we did well to keep them below that," KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said during the post-match presentation.
“In this format, all matches that are close we need to win those, and only then can we climb up the ladder. Three out of our last four were very close matches. The energy and vibe are high before the game and it is disappointing that we are unable to convert it,” he added.
Image credit: IPL
