IPL 2025: GT beat KKR to extend lead atop standings
What's the story
Gujarat Titans beat Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 39 of IPL 2025 at Eden Gardens on April 21.
The Titans successfully defended 198 with vital contributions from their bowlers. Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan took two wickets each.
Earlier, substantial knocks from Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler powered their innings.
GT have extended their lead atop the IPL 2025 points table.
Match
A look at match summary
GT had a fine start, with Gill and Sudharsan adding 114 runs, after KKR elected to field.
While Gill missed his ton, Buttler played a whirlwind knock, driving the Titans to 198/3 in 20 overs.
KKR lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early, but Ajinkya Rahane kept them afloat. Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh's efforts went in vain for KKR (159/8).
GT eventually won by 39 runs.
Rahane
Rahane's fifty goes in vain
Rahane led KKR from the front, after they lost Gurbaz in the first over. He added a brief stand with Sunil Narine to get past 40 in the powerplay.
Although the required run-rate kept on rising, Rahane kept on fighting. He lost support from the other end.
He was finally dismissed by Washington Sundar for a 36-ball 50 (5 fours and 1 six).
Milestone
Rahane gets past 500 IPL fours
With his third, Rahane completed 500 fours in the IPL. He became only the sixth player with this feat.
Shikhar Dhawan currently leads the list with 768 fours, followed by Virat Kohli (732), David Warner (663), Rohit Sharma (609), and Suresh Raina (506).
At Eden Gardens, Rahane got past 4,900 runs in the IPL.
Partnership
Century-plus stand between Gill, Sudharsan
Earlier, a 114-run stand between Gill and Sudharsan bolstered GT.
As per Cricbuzz, this was the second century partnership between the two in IPL 2025. They also have two more fifty-plus stands.
As an opening pair, Gill and Sudharsan have added 448 runs from eight innings at 56. Their run-rate reads 8.93.
Gill has been involved in every 100-plus opening stand for GT.
Gill
Gill slams his third fifty of IPL 2025
Gill slammed a 55-ball 90, a knock laced with 10 fours and 3 sixes.
He got to his third half-century of IPL 2025. Overall, this was his 23rd half-century in IPL history.
The GT skipper also raced past 3,500 runs in the tournament.
During the match, the Indian batter also completed 500 runs at the iconic Eden Gardens in the IPL.
Sudharsan
Sudharsan gets Orange Cap
Sai Sudharsan continues his rich vein of form in IPL 2025. He hammered a 36-ball 52, smashing 6 fours and a six.
Sudharsan has now slammed five fifties in IPL 2025. Overall, this was his 11th fifty of the tournament.
Sudharsan, who received the Orange Cap, has racked up 417 runs from eight IPL 2025 encounters at an average of 52.12.
Buttler
Buttler fancies playing at Eden Gardens
Although Gill and Sudharsan set the tone of GT's innings, the scoring rate dropped.
Buttler, who came in at number three, played a valuable knock at that stage. He smashed an unbeaten 41 off 23 balls (8 fours).
As per Cricbuzz, Buttler's last five T20 scores in Kolkata read 41*, 68, 107*, 0, and 89. He averages over 70 at Eden Gardens in T20s.
Information
Rashid wins another battle against Russell
Russell sparked hopes in the KKR camp with a blistering cameo. However, his 15-ball 21 was cut short by Rashid. Notably, Rashid has dismissed Russell four times in nine IPL innings. The latter was stumped this time.