IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 13: Best memes from the game

Vijay Shankar and Sai Sudharsan starred with the bat while Rashid Khan took a hat-trick for the Gujarat Titans along with Rinku Singh's heroics in a high-voltage finish between GT and KKR.

Published - 09 Apr 2023, 19:40 IST | Updated - 09 Apr 2023, 18:46 IST

10 Min Read

Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a thrilling last-ball comeback win against the Gujarat Titans in the 13th match of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) on Sunday, April 9. Vijay Shankar and Sai Sudharsan registered impressive half-centuries to help Gujarat Titans post a mammoth 204 while batting first.

Thereafter, Venkatesh Iyer, playing in as an impact player, smashed 83 off 40 balls to drag Kolkata closer to the target. Albeit, in what turned out to be a humdinger, interim skipper, Rashid Khan, took a thrilling hat-trick in the 17^thover to keep Gujarat in a comfortable position to win the game. But Rinku Singh smashed five consecutive sixes on the innings' last five deliveries to guide Kolkata to a stunning three-wicket win.

Earlier, Rashid won the toss for Gujarat Titans and elected to bat first at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Vijay Shankar replaced Hardik Pandya for the Titans while the Knight Riders added Narayan Jagadeesan and Lockie Ferguson in place of Mandeep Singh and Tim Southee.

Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill started the innings with a 33-run stand for the first wicket. Saha struggled for settling at the crease and was caught out while attempting a big shot in the fifth over. Sudharsan, at 3, recorded another impressive fifty and added a 67-run stand for the second wicket with Gill.

Gill scored a crucial 39 off 31 and Sudharsan added 53 off 38 to keep the Titans on track for a big total. But it was Shankar's storming knock of 63* off 24 which accelerated Gujarat's run rate to post a mammoth total. He smashed four fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 262.50 while Sunil Narine took three wickets for 33 for Kolkata.

While chasing a big total, Kolkata Knight Riders' top order struggled for a good start. Jagadeesan opened the innings marking his debut for Kolkata but scored just six runs. The visitors lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz as well on just 15 runs to concede an early pressure.

But Venkatesh changed the momentum towards Kolkata by smashing a quick fifty while coming in as an impact player. He pulled off a 100-run stand with skipper Nitish Rana for the third wicket. Iyer recorded 83 off 50 and Rana scored 45 off 29 to keep Kolkata in the game.

Fascinatingly enough, Rashid took three valuable wickets in the 17th over to completely change the momentum. But Rinku held his nerves and stunned the crowd by smashing five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal in the last over to register a memorable win for Kolkata. With this win, Kolkata jumped to the second position in the IPL points table while Gujarat Titans slipped to the fourth position.