Shubman Gill delivered a spectacular 86 from 50 deliveries as Gujarat Titans triumphed over Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in their IPL 2026 encounter at Ahmedabad on Friday. The GT skipper struck eight boundaries and four maximums as his team completed the chase of 181 in 19.4 overs. Previously, KKR all-rounder Cameron Green rediscovered his touch, blasting a rapid 79 to help his team recover to 180 all out. Green’s impressive innings spanning 55 balls followed KKR’s top-order collapse against fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada (3/29) and Mohammed Siraj (2/23). KKR found themselves struggling at 32/3 within four overs before Green reconstructed the innings, building a crucial 55-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Rovman Powell (27), then maintaining momentum with Anukul Roy (9) to guide the total to a competitive score. Gill and Rabada Contribute to Straightforward Win Over KKR .
TOSS
Kolkata Knight Riders won the coin flip and elected to bat first.
PLAYING XI
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI):
Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ashok Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI):
Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Mohammed Siraj initiated the early destruction of KKR by removing Ajinkya Rahane without scoring – the first duck for the KKR captain in IPL since 2020. Angkrish Raghuvanshi edged one outside off stump, while Tim Seifert – stepping in for Finn Allen – sliced one directly to point, providing Rabada with two dismissals. Cameron Green successfully overturned a caught-behind verdict, but the GT bowling attack had established dominance by limiting KKR to 37/3 during the Powerplay. Three dismissals in the Powerplay increased KKR’s season total to 12, leading all teams, with CSK’s 10 placing them second.
While Green battled to find rhythm, scoring below run-a-ball, Rovman Powell injected vital energy into KKR’s batting effort. He launched a Prasidh Krishna delivery beyond the long-on boundary, then followed with a six and four off Ashok Sharma. He also carved a boundary off Rashid Khan, as did Green, propelling KKR to 80/3 after ten overs.
Green stood at 27 from 28 deliveries at the midway point, but underwent a remarkable transformation in subsequent overs. A six and boundary off Rashid preceded two maximums off Ashok as Green reached his fifty in 34 balls. He also cleared the ropes again off Rashid, collected a fortuitous boundary via an edge, then survived when Washington Sundar dropped a catch that raced to the fence. Green accumulated multiple boundaries and sixes, though wickets tumbled around him as KKR crumbled while attempting to maximize remaining overs – sliding from 147/4 in the 15th over to 173/9 by the 19th. Green, however, managed just 3 runs from his final nine balls and departed on the last delivery to Rashid.
GUJARAT TITANS
An elegant straight drive off Kartik Tyagi represented one of numerous sublime strokes executed by Gill, who established the chase rhythm through consistent boundaries, including a six off Anukul Roy. Sai Sudharsan matched his partner’s aggression, launching two sixes off the left-arm spinner. Both batsmen continued their dominance, typical of matches in Ahmedabad, pushing GT beyond fifty within five overs. Narine concluded Sudharsan’s innings in the sixth over, but Jos Buttler arrived in destructive form, hammering two boundaries and a six in the same over to propel GT past 70 after the Powerplay.
Varun Chakaravarthy has previously troubled Buttler multiple times and added another dismissal of the former England skipper to his collection, now totaling seven in 11 T20 meetings. However, the dismissal barely disrupted GT’s momentum, with Gill maintaining his impressive batting display, including a front-foot pull for six off Tyagi. Sundar provided valuable assistance to the GT captain until attempting a pull shot off Varun that resulted in a catch in the deep. Gill progressed into the 80s as the requirement dropped to 32 from the final four overs.
Then came a stunning moment – Green executed a magnificent diving catch from deep backward point to dismiss Gill, creating a narrow opportunity for KKR. But Phillips essentially closed that window with two boundaries off Tyagi in the 18th over, though the match extended to the final over with GT requiring 5 runs. Vaibhav Arora managed to remove Phillips before Shahrukh Khan scored the winning runs with two balls to spare.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 180 in 20 overs [Cameron Green 79 (55), Rovman Powell 27 (20); Kagiso Rabada 3-29, Mohammed Siraj 2-23] lost to Gujarat Titans 181/5 in 19.4 overs [Shubman Gill 86 (50), Jos Buttler 25 (15); Varun Chakaravarthy 2-34] by 5 wickets.
About the Author
