3 best knocks in KKR-GT matches in IPL ft. Venkatesh Iyer
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will lock horns with Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 63 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host this contest.
The Kolkata-based franchise became the first team to qualify for the playoffs after winning their ninth game in 12 appearances on Saturday, May 11, against Mumbai Indians.
Batting first, Venkatesh Iyer led the charge with a knock of 42 off 21 to help KKR post 157 in 16 overs (due to rain). In response, Mumbai fell short by 18 runs, as Varun Chakaravarthy, Andre Russell and Harshit Rana scalped two wickets apiece.
Meanwhile, GT are eighth in the points table with five wins in 12 games. They need big wins in their remaining two games to have an outside chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
In their last outing against Chennai Super Kings, the Titan scored 231, courtesy of centuries from Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan. Then, Mohit Sharma picked up three wickets to help GT win by 35 runs.
On that note, let's take a look at the three best knocks in KKR-GT matches in IPL history.
#3 Hardik Pandya - 67 off 49, IPL 2022
In the 35th match of IPL 2022 season, the Gujarat Titans could not start well, as they lost Shubman Gill (7) early and Wriddhiman Saha (25) could not convert his start into a substantial innings. However, coming at No. 3, skipper Hardik Pandya assessed the conditions well and kept the team in good stead with a calculative approach.
Pandya slammed 67 off 49 balls, with four fours and two sixes, before being dismissed by Tim Southee in the 18th over, David Miller (27) and Rahul Tewatia (17) contributed as the Titans compiled a total of 156. Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers for Kolkata Knight Riders with four scalps.
In response, the Knight Riders were reduced to 34/4 in the seventh over. Nevertheless, the knocks from Andre Russell (48) and Rinku Singh (35) paved the way for KKR to seal the chase on the last ball. Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal and Lockie Ferguson picked up two wickets each for GT.
#2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz - 81 off 39, IPL 2023
In April 2023, Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz played his best IPL knock of 81 off 39 balls with five fours and seven sixes. The crucial contribution came when the other batters failed to get going for most of the innings. Russell contributed 34 off 19, as the Knight Riders scored 179 in 20 overs. Shami finished with figures of 3/33 and was the pick of the bowlers for GT.
Then, the Gujarat-based side got a stable platform with contributions from Shubman Gill (49) and Hardik Pandya (26). Vijay Shankar (51*) and David Miller (32*) contributed as well to secure a clinical victory for the franchise in the 18th over.
#1 Venkatesh Iyer - 83 off 40, IPL 2023
The best knock in the KKR-GT games came by Venkatesh Iyer in the 13th match of the IPL 2023 season. GT batted first and posted a strong total of 204, with impressive knocks from Shankar (63) and Sai Sudharsan (53). Sunil Narine scalped three wickets for KKR.
In response, Gurbaz (15) and N Jagadeeshan (6) fell early. However, coming in at No. 3, Venkatesh was sublime with his timing and confidence to stitch a 100-run stand with Nitish Rana (45).
Venkatesh slammed 83 off 40 balls, with eight fours and five sixes before he was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph. Then, Rinku Singh (48*) slammed five sixes against Yash Dayal in the final over to clinch a thriller for KKR.