IPL 2023: 'Humbleness helping us win the games,' GT captain Hardik Pandya after win over KKR

Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets in the return-fixture.

It was revenge for Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens on Saturday evening. Titans, after dramatically losing against Kolkata Knight Riders at Narendra Modi Cricket stadium, have defeated KKR by 7 wickets in reverse fixture. Titans with dominance in their chase earned the top spot in the points table. It was Rinku Singh who smashed 5 consecutive sixes in the final over to chase 29 runs, on Saturday it was Vijay Shankar who smashed KKR bowlers. Vijay Shankar in the 17th over hit Varun Chakravarthy 3 sixes in an over to stamp Titans on the game. Shubhman Gill steered the 180 chases nicely with his 49 runs inning. Then in the end Vijay Shankar (51) and David Miller’s (32) 87 runs partnership sealed the game for Gujarat. Shankar smashed his half-century in 24 balls by smashing 2 fours and 5 sixes.

KKR Batting was under pressure

Kolkata’s batting didn’t click once again. Apart from Rahmanullah Gurbax at the top, nobody could score big runs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 81 runs in 39 balls, and Andre Russell helped KKR put 179 on the board. Russell scored 34 runs. Captain Nitish Rana looked unsatisfied with the batting performance. Rana said, “We were 25-30 runs short… No one apart from Gurbaz and Russell got going. There were not enough partnerships, and had we had a 40-50 runs partnership the score could have been more”. The biggest partnership in the Kolkata Knight Riders inning was between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rinku Singh (19). They both added 47 runs for the 5th wicket.  

'Humbleness is helping us win the game' - Hardik Pandya

Gujarat Titans lost Wriddhiman Saha early in their chase, yet their middle order was strong enough to chase down the target given by KKR. Hardik Pandya was happy with the target Titans got. Hardik Pandya said, “I would have taken 180 on that wicket any given day. In a group, we know that to win the game, irrespective of the situation, we have to play good cricket. That humbleness is helping win the game”. Vijay Shankar with his 4 sixes in the last 2 overs closed the game nicely. Hardik Pandya talking about Vijay said, “He is a fitter Vijay Shankar, more confident and the amount of hard work he has put in is terrific. His hits changed the game, and moving forward we can do more of the same”.

Little looks settled with Titans

Irishman Josh Little was awarded player of the match for his superb bowling spell. Little’s 2/25 in 4 overs put KKR middle order in trouble. He cramped the batters and didn’t give much room, resulting in KKR losing wickets in quick succession. Josh Little said, “I spoke to Hardik Pandya before the game and we talked about keeping it as simple as possible, hitting the hard lengths. I am happy that I could do it today”. Talking about his experience Josh Little has said that he has settled nicely now. He said, “The first game of the season was always going to be nervous. I have settled in nicely now”. Little is the first player from Ireland to represent a team in the Indian Premier League.