KKR vs GT, 39th Match at Kolkata, IPL, Apr 29 2023 - Ball by Ball Commentary

8:06pm Right. That will be that from us for this game. The action in the IPL, though, does come quite thick and fast. Do hop over to the DC-SRH game, where Abhishek Sharma has given SRH the start they were after. Until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Chandan, Vairavan and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo! Goodbye and take care!

Josh Little, Player of the Match: I just spoke to Hardik before the game and we talked about keeping it as simple as possible - hitting the hard lengths, and happy that I could do it today. The first game of the season was always going to be nerves. I have settled in nicely now. (On his plan on this pitch) It was just about smashing back of a length and letting the ball do the talking.

Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans captain: (On Noor and Little) They got us back in the game and they kept us in the hunt. The way Gurbaz batted - he was hitting good balls with some conviction and clarity. The way they (Noor and Little) bowled was great. 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 us win games of cricket. They are respecting the situation, we want to face it and it is just about playing good cricket and being smart. (On Vijay Shankar) 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 expect more of the same. I always felt that good people get to good places and he is certainly one of those.

Nitish Rana, Kolkata Knight Riders captain: (On the score) I think we were 20-25 runs short. If we keep dropping catches against big teams, I do not think the result will be any different. No one apart from Gurbaz and Russell got going. There were not enough partnerships and had we had a partnership of 40-50 runs, the score could have been more. We kept them quiet in the middle overs but against such teams, if you do not take your chances, you will end up on the losing side. If we do well in all three departments, only then will we have a chance. Unless we do that, the result will not be in our favour. I feel the small moments are more important than the big moments. If you do these small things well, like taking catches and fielding well, there are more chances of victory.

7:51pm Well, the Gujarat Titans did it at a canter towards the end. But just before Miller and Shankar joined hands, KKR seemed in the contest, with their spinners keeping things tight in the middle overs. As the game moved into the final phase, though, Miller and Shankar took it up a notch and KKR just could not respond. They also dropped Miller at a crucial juncture and that eventually came back to haunt them.

As for GT, this win catapults them to the top of the table. They have aced another run-chase and the way they have been hunting down totals, they look on course to make the playoffs for the second time running. In an ideal world, they would have wanted one of Gill or Hardik to have batted deeper but they would not mind that, especially with their middle order firing on all cylinders.

Wow, what a passage of play this has been for Gujarat. They have ransacked 55 runs in the last three overs and are now on the verge of their sixth win this season. Here is Nitish Rana - the final roll of the dice

26 needed off 22 now. Surely this is GT's to lose?

Around the wicket now

Chakravarthy to bowl out. KKR need him to break this partnership

Russell returns. Can he break this game open?

Right. Five overs left, 51 to get. Who are you backing? GT might be slightly ahead of the game at this stage, especially with Miller still at the crease.

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