Gujarat Titans (GT) thwarted an Andre Russell special to defeat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by eight runs in the 35th match of IPL 2022 on Saturday, 23 April.
Batting first after winning the toss, GT rode on captain Hardik Pandya's half-century to post a sub-par but competitive 156-9 in 20 overs. Although KKR changed their top order again, their batting woes continued.
They stumbled to 108-7 in 15.2 overs. Russell brought the equation down to 12 required off five balls, but got out at the wrong moment to leave his team short by eight runs.
IPL 2022 Updated Points table
Following the win, the Ahmedabad-based franchise once again jumped to the top of the points table, pushing Rajashthan Royals (RR) to second spot. GT now have 12 points from seven matches and need just two wins from their next seven to finish in the top four. Their net run rate (NRR) also got the tiniest of boosts, rising from 0.395 to 0.396 - the third-best in the league.
Meanwhile, KKR, who had started the season on a brilliant note, remained at No. 7 with three wins from eight games. Their NRR barely held itself in positive territory, halving from 0.160 to 0.080.
IPL 2022 Orange Cap list updated
Pandya once again veiled GT's batting problems with his responsible 49-ball 67 from the No. 3 position. His knock included two fours and a six and he now has 295 runs from six games.
The GT skipper jumped from No. 9 in the Orange Cap rankings to No. 2, 30 runs clear of his Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) counterpart KL Rahul, who has played one game more.
From KKR, captain Shreyas Iyer could only score 12, but retained his sixth position in the standings. Russell's belligerent cameo (48 off 25 balls) got him back into the top 10 as well, with the all-rounder now occupying 10th spot with 227 runs from seven innings.
RR's Jos Buttler continues to don the Orange Cap with his freakish 491 runs from seven games and remains ahead of Pandya by 196 runs.
IPL 2022 Purple Cap list updated
India's pace veterans Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav made gains on the Purple Cap table. Shami picked up two wickets for the Titans to enter the top 10 and now sits in ninth spot with a total of 10 wickets from seven games. Yadav, meanwhile, dismissed Wriddhiman Saha and jumped from No. 9 to No. 5 with 11 scalps.
Russell had a superb all-round game as he picked up four wickets in the only over - 20th - he bowled. He made a dramatic jump and is now 11th with 10 wickets from eight matches. RR's Yuzvendra Chahal leads the table with 18 scalps from seven matches, five more than second-placed Kuldeep Yadav of the Delhi Capitals (DC).
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