Shankar, Noor, Little power Gujarat to top of points table with 7-wicket win over Kolkata

KOLKATA: Noor Ahmed and Joshua Little were impressive in taking two wickets in middle overs while Vijay Shankar stepped up at the right time to overcome a scare in middle overs and smash a blazing 51 off just 24 balls to lead Gujarat Titans to top of the IPL 2023 points table with a seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Saturday.

Post the play starting after 45 minutes of rain delay, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, coming in for an injured Jason Roy, slammed a scintillating 39-ball 81, laced with five fours and seven sixes. But apart from Andre Russell, the birthday boy, smashing a 19-ball 34, with two fours and three sixes, no other batter stepped up as Kolkata made 179/7.

In reply, at 98/3 in 12 overs, after Shubman Gill fell for 49, chasing 180 seemed far-fetched for Gujarat. But for a team that has carved a reputation for acing chases, Shankar started the turnaround by slamming two fours and five sixes while sharing a decisive match-winning partnership of 87 runs in just 6.3 overs with David Miller, who was unbeaten on 32, to win with 13 balls to spare.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 179/7 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 81, Andre Russell 34; Mohammed Shami 3-33, Noor Ahmad 2-21) lost to Gujarat Titans 180/3 in 17.5 overs (Vijay Shankar 51 not out, Shubman Gill 49; Sunil Narine 1-24, Harshit Rana 1-25) by 7 wickets.

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