Gujarat Titans beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets – IPL 2026 Match Report
Shubman Gill’s brilliant 86 guided Gujarat Titans to a five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Friday, April 17. Chasing 181, GT reached the target with two balls to spare in a match that never quite sat still.
KKR’s 180 Built on Green Alone
Kolkata Knight Riders lost openers Ajinkya Rahane (0) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (8) inside two overs, and at 21/2 in the second over the innings was already in trouble. Tim Seifert provided some early momentum with 19 off 14 before falling to Kagiso Rabada, and from there the innings leaned almost entirely on Cameron Green.
Green was outstanding. The Australian all-rounder made 79 off 55 balls – seven fours and four sixes – carrying Kolkata from peril to something formidable. He put on 66 with Rovman Powell (27 off 20) in a crucial fourth-wicket stand that dragged the innings to respectability. But once Powell fell in the 11th over, the tail couldn’t match the rate Green had set.
Ramandeep Singh (17 off 8) provided a late cameo, and Kartik Tyagi chipped in with six off four at the death, but Green was last man out in the final over – dismissed off Rashid Khan for 79 – and KKR finished on 180/10.
For GT, Kagiso Rabada was the stand-out with the ball – 3/29 from four overs including the scalps of Seifert, Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh. Mohammed Siraj (2/23) was exceptional with the new ball, dismissing Rahane first ball. Ashok Sharma was expensive (2/45) but picked up two middle-order wickets when they mattered.
The full scorecard is available on the Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders fixture page at Statz Cricket.
Gill Takes Over
GT’s chase started briskly. Sai Sudharsan (22 off 16) hit two sixes before Sunil Narine trapped him in the fifth over at 57/1. Jos Buttler arrived at three and hit five boundaries in his 25 from 15 balls, the partnership with Gill already starting to boss the match.
Buttler fell to Varun Chakaravarthy at 95/2 and Washington Sundar came and went for 13 off 13 – also Chakaravarthy, who finished with 2/34 as the pick of the KKR attack. But Gill was never flustered.
The GT captain brought up his fifty in the 13th over and continued to accelerate, reaching 86 from 50 balls before he was finally removed in the 17th over – dismissed off Vaibhav Arora at 158/4. Eight fours and four sixes. SR 172. An innings that controlled the game from powerplay to penultimate over.
Glenn Phillips (19 off 16) and Rahul Tewatia (7* off 6) saw GT home at 181/5 with two balls left. Tewatia has made a habit of finishing chases – his composure in the final over with just one needed from four balls was the closing act.
For Gujarat Titans, a fourth win from their last five. For Kolkata Knight Riders, another home defeat that stings – 180 should have been enough.
Statz MVP: Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill earned the Statz MVP award with a match-high Statz Rating of 73/100. His 86 off 50 – at a strike rate of 172 – was the innings the chase required. GT were never in danger with Gill at the crease and his run rate management in the middle overs gave GT the platform to finish with something in hand. He was also named Player of the Match on the day. The Statz Rating combines batting impact, bowling impact and match context.
Statz Ratings – Top Performers
Shubman Gill led the match with a Statz Rating of 73/100. Statz Ratings for the full player list are available on the match page at Statz Cricket.
Turning Point
Cameron Green’s dismissal off the final delivery of the 20th over – bowled by Rashid Khan for 79 – ended KKR’s innings one over early in spirit. He had carried them to 180; without him for another over, a target of 190+ felt plausible. His dismissal, and the manner of the innings collapsing around him (four wickets for 33 runs across overs 15-19), left Kolkata just short of a total that would have made Gill’s innings truly heroic rather than merely excellent.
Standings
Keep up with the IPL 2026 standings and player ratings at Statz Cricket.
