Lone Rinku Over Titans.

Rinku Singh's five-six blitzkrieg in the last over turned a losing cause for the Kolkata Knight Riders into a winning one as they eked out a three-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans, at the Narendra Modi Stadium here. A tight two-wicket spell in the middle overs by Alzarri Joseph and a hat-trick by stand-in captain Rashid Khan had earlier neutralized an aggressive half-century from Venkatesh Iyer, as the Titans looked on course for another victory. 

But, Singh had other ideas. When last match hero Shradul Thakur was pinned in front by a Khan googly, the Knight Riders were staring down the barrel, needing an improbable 50 runs from 21 balls, with three wickets in hand. Titans' premier pacer Mohammed Shami conceded just five runs in the 18th over, While Joshua little was entrusted with the responsibility to bowl the penultimate over. Singh hit the last two balls of Little's over for a six and a four to bring the equation down to 29 runs from the last over.

And, after Umesh Yadav handed him the strike, Rinku did the improbable. He hit Yash Dayal's second ball, a full toss, over long off before depositing the next one, also a full toss, to the leg-side boundary. Dayal then bowled another full toss, to the leg-side boundary. Dayal then bowled another full toss and two short-of-length deliveries which were clobbered for sixes as delirious Knight Riders team members ran on to the ground to celebrate. Before this, Iyer and captain Nitish Rana stabilized the innings with a stroke-filled 100-run partnership off just 55 balls for the third wicket. Rana's dismissal followed by that of a tiring Iyer had titled the match in Titans' favour. 

Earlier, after winning the toss, Vijay Shankar and Sai Sudharsan propelled the defending champions to a healthy 204/4. While Shubman Gill cracked a classy 39 containing five fours, it was Shankar's 24-ball 63 and Sudharsan's measured 53 that formed the cornerstone of the innings. Shankar grabbed the opportunity with both hands in skipper Hardik Pandya's absence. If the six over long-off of Lockie Ferguson's delivery in the penultimate over, which went for 25,was a treat to watch, the three of Shradul Thakur's over the cow corner in the last over was was a show of raw power. Wriddhiman Saha opened with a streaky boundary over wicket-keeper Rahamanullah Gurbaz while Gill announced his arrival with a neat clip off the legs.